4th of July & Generation ‘Y’

Happy Fourth of July!

I often wonder how personal I should get on a blog post and I debated about whether I should address what the 4th of July means to me. Then I thought — in honor of freedom of speech, I’m going to honor my freedom to write my little heart out.

You won’t find an “I love America” bumper sticker on my car, an American flag on my front porch, or a “Made in the U.S. of A” tattoo on my lower back.  It’s not that I’m not patriotic, I just prefer to exercise my love for America in the way I live my life, not in the the way I “show” my life.  My main reason for loving America?  For allowing my mother access to this country when she was 16.  She came here without money and without speaking the language. But she turned those “lacks” into the fuel that lit the flame inside of her to persevere through intense obstacles.  If you were to meet her today you would notice her smiling eyes, her beautiful and accented command of the English language and her warm spirit. If there’s anything I’m thankful for today it’s the simple fact that she is here and that I was born here.

Truth is — America is a nation in progress and that is the most exciting and beautiful thing about it.  Just how I feel strongly that people should always be improving themselves and evolving, so too should America. The day we deem ourselves or our country as “done and perfect” is the day we halt progress in the name of a false sense of vanity.

I’m going to try to segue into a loosely related topic and that’s:   what it’s like to be my generation in America right now.

Note, I’m taking liberties on speaking on my generation’s behalf, so let’s keep that in mind and move on.

This has got to the be the most trying and yet most exciting time of our lives.  A lot of my friends and I, all in our mid twenties, are recent college grads, attending grad or professional school, or relatively new in the corporate work force.  We have been partly disillusioned.  The economy has thrown a lot of us for a loop.  We were under the impression that getting our college education would ensure that we would have no problem finding well-paying and fulfilling jobs upon graduation. For some of us that was true or partly true. For a lot of us, whether it had been true at a recent point in time, it’s now a struggle to find any job, and psychic fulfillment from the workplace seems to be a lofty, far-fetched concept.  But we’re not throwing in the towel. We’re finding creative ways to make the most of our opportunities.  We’re becoming entrepreneurs.  We’re taking the time to continue to expand and challenge our minds because we’ve learned that thinking and self-evolution don’t stop after college.

I have read so many articles written by baby-boomer-generation marketers and recruiters that address the question, “How will we work with generation ‘y’?”  We have been termed the “me generation,” the “text generation,” the generation of “trophy kids” with false senses of entitlement.  They’ve said we are less loyal to the corporate world, less inclined to stay for long periods of time at a job and more inclined to seek a work-life balance.

Dear Baby-Boomer Recruiters, et al:

Happy Fourth of July!  On this day, I would like to tell you how thankful I am to be a young adult in this country.  As true to your depiction of my generation, I am addressing your sentiments in blog form and will send via text, Skype, AIM and g-mail as well (oh and I have a 140-character version of this to send via Twitter, too).

You are right in most of your depictions of my generation.  I can’t speak for all of us because there are always exceptions and you’ll find any number of people with a false-sense of entitlement if you hand pluck them out of privileged households where money, not perseverance, is their calling card.  So I will speak about the people I know: my friends and acquaintances who make up this generation of texters and Facebookers — a generation that can’t take a walk around the block without Twittering about it.

You’re right.  We do want a work-life balance. Does this mean there is no more company loyalty?  Not at all.  This means we understand that to be “good workers” we need to live balanced lives. You won’t have strong and healthy workers in us if we work 24/7 (especially if we have to work on your own terms of being caged up from 9-5).  Being overworked and undervalued breeds discontent.  We want to be healthy, vibrant and happy workers.  Don’t you want that too? We cherish the ability to work remotely because we are a nation of multitaskers. In essence, we are always “at” work because of the sheer volume of technology that keeps us linked to work and accountable to work. Blackberries? Cells? You can even Facebook chat us to ask how we’re progressing on that report you need. But don’t expect a blind loyalty from us either.  A lot of us have watched our parents’ highly coveted 401ks dissolve into thin air — those same 401ks we were told were our life jackets.  A lot of our parents have been laid off from companies they had been with for decades. Sure these are signs of a bad economy, but they are also reminders that an employer, as an entity, will not be there to bail you out of hard times, or hold your hand when times get tough.

You’re right.  We are “trophy kids,” but we don’t feel like we’re all winners and that we should be undeservedly praised. We believe in a meritocracy and being rewarded (the sooner the better) for a job well done.  We don’t really like the old way of doing things where you have to be with a company for years and years on end to slowly, but surely, move up the ladder.  In fact, we don’t like those set-in-place plans at all.  We believe in rule-bending and breaking if it engenders more creativity, progress and better policies.

You’re right.  We do want to be involved in decision making, even as young, recent college grads. We believe everyone has a story and everyone has something unique to offer to the table.  This isn’t because we’re all conceited little kids who have been told by our mothers how perfect we are every day.  It’s because we’re a generation of active participants.  We’re a generation of bloggers.  We’re a generation of news-writers and commentators. We don’t wait for others to tell the news, digest it for us and feed it to us by beak.  We are active participants in the way news is told and distributed. We are accustomed to giving our opinions all over the world wide web — it’s only natural we want to give them in the boardroom as well. But don’t worry — we don’t just want to share an empty opinion with you.  We’re a resourceful generation and we’re pros at research.  Not only do we thrive in and enjoy that we can research any matter without having to take a trip to a library, we know how important it is when things are time-sensitive to make haste and be efficient.  We’re all about efficiency.  And we’re pretty sure to get you the best prices on the flights and venues you’re booking for your next conference.

You’re right.  We are the “text” generation because we are the next generation. We are attached to our phones, computers and tons of other electronic devices. Limiting our access to them in the workplace is just kind of funny.  You should embrace the fact that we can instantly connect with thousands of people in a split second.  We have a keen understanding and intuition of being interconnected with people across geographic and cultural boundaries.  This should be tapped, harnessed, embraced and used to your advantage. We can make or break brands with the touch of the “enter” button. Don’t fear it.  Learn it.

And, in typical Gen-Y fashion, my energy is spent and I’m ready to go balance my life by doing some strength training. Yes, it’s 2:30 a.m.  We Gen-Yers also keep weird schedules, but, hey, that can be a good thing, too.

Ttyl & happy 4th,

Annabel

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Have a wonderful day you guys!  What’s on the menu?! My mom is going to make her famous (yes, famous to her family!) roast beef sandwiches.  If I ate meat, I’d be all over ‘em.  Instead, I will be chowing down on a veggie burger and sweet potato fries! yum!

Tags: Fourth of July, Generation Y