Meet the Millennials.

One of the very first places I heard the word “millennial” was on Richard Quest’s CNN show. On his show, he would ask questions like “how are millennials holiday patterns affecting the tourism industry?” or “how are millennials’ spending habits affecting the online retail market?” My immediate reaction was “this millennial thing has such a cool ring to it, I wonder if I’m within that generation?” Well, luckily I am and I think you most likely are as well. Roughly, millennials are people born between 1980 and 2000 and we are different from anything the world has ever seen. We are so different that our spending patterns, attitude to life and “can do spirit” defies and constantly shocks older generations. Millennials are confident, daring, fast, innovative and technology savvy. We believe that the world is our stage and we deserve to be the star actors. Millennials dare to have dreams of being rich, famous and young all at the same time! We want to define who we want to be, or more appropriately, we want to create who we want to be, and don’t appreciate being confined to a box.

Unfortunately, these qualities that make millennials so cool are perhaps our hubris. Millennials are in such a hurry to be successful and indeed, we want our “True Hollywood Story” to happen now. Millennials are restless, get bored easily and are not willing to stay static for too long. Unfortunately for some, being a millennial is so overwhelming, that they just lock up because they cannot deal with the pressures of belonging to a generation that demands creativity and expression as a prerequisite to being accepted into the fold.

Perhaps the worst (and this could also be the best) part of being a millennial is that millennials are riddled with career options. It’s no longer the traditional lawyer, doctor, engineer or architect route for us. Technology and the general evolution of society has unlocked so many options for millennials, and this sometimes causes confusion which in turn makes millennials incapable of making choices. Millennials can now find fulfillment and financial stability by being personal stylists, writers, artists, musicians, computer programmers, YouTube and Instagram celebrities and a million other things that I suspect will soon evolve enough to be termed respectable professions. Millennials also have a sense of entitlement- but that’s the topic for another day.

The point of this (as there must always be a point) is that as a millennial, it’s okay to feel this way all at once! Its okay to be confident and demand seemingly impossible things from life, but it’s also okay to feel the pressure from wanting to handle so much. Today’s post is one of comfort to millennials finding their way. Very soon, that20sblog will be sharing practical tips that can help millennials navigate through the complexity in themselves and also find their niche- even if that niche is the whole world.

If CNN thinks millennials are worthy of being studied, it mean we are complex and possibly problematic, but we also have huge potential. On my 20s honour, we are going to harness that potential and turn it into something kinetic- a space rocket maybe? Ha ha! Don’t mind my imagination, I am after all, a millennial.

Our next 20s diaries video addresses millennials' desire NOT TO BE TRAPPED IN A BOX!

P.S you can catch what Richard Quest says about millennials here