Hot Take: I’m Proud to Be a Millennial Mom

It’s easy to trash on Millenials.

As a child of two baby Boomers, my teenage years were filled with talk about how shameful my generation was. 

After all, we invented selfies — so we must all be completely self-obsessed. We spend all our time on screens, so we must all be lazy.

Now, I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not leading the charge on a lot of the modern things happening out there — there are MANY things in our culture that I don’t agree with or take part in. I’m sure that’s true for everyone.

I have HAD IT with all the trash talk about my generation. We are NOT lazy, entitled, selfish, technology-addicted morons.

I’m proud to be a Millennial.

And as a Millennial mom, I’m proud of all the things that my generation can teach my kids. I know there’s a lot we could be afraid of, but I am excited for the way that we are equipping our children to manage whatever comes.

And here are just a few reasons why:

1. We’ve Lived Through A LOT of History

Here’s a non-conclusive list of all the major historical events that have shaped Millennials: 

  • 9/11
  • Y2K (okay we can laugh at this one)
  • Iraq war
  • The Great Recession of 2008
  • Hurricane Katrina
  • Many mass shootings: Columbine, Virginia Tech, Sandy Hook, Orlando, and MORE
  • The killings of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and so many others
  • COVID FREAKING 19

2. We Challenge the Status-Quo

I know I know… we could all talk about all the problems with society and America and all of that craziness. *Gag*

I understand it’s easy for most of you to look around and ONLY see the negative.

But you know what? I’m looking around and seeing a lot of positive changes, too.

Indeed says that one of the top characteristics of millennial employees is that they “challenge the hierarchy status-quo.”

Basically, our generation has collectively looked around and said, “Ummmmm, why are we doing things this way?”

And in A LOT OF CASES, it turned out there was actually no good reason at all.

I’ve seen my generation ask questions that other generations didn’t, like:

  • Is the way that our parents raised really the best way? Maybe there’s a way to actually nurture loving relationships with our kids and produce humans who are kind, confident, and strong–instead of telling them to be “seen and not heard.”
  • Is college really the only path we should be encouraging our kids to take (cough cough *shoving down their throats*)?
  • Is working 9-5 just to pay the bills really how I want to spend my life?
  • Is telling myself, “well I’m not a racist” really good enough? (It’s not. I suggest this post about how to be an ally if you aren’t sure.)
  • Is getting therapy, having trauma, being depressed or anxious things to be ashamed about? (None of them are! Millennials are normalizing counseling and mental health like never before.)

While none of these questions have easy answers or solutions that can be fixed overnight — progress is happening. Asking the right questions will get us closer to the right answers. And I’m proud of that.

3. We Care About Giving Back

On a recent Shark Tank episode, Mark Cuban noted how almost every pitch from Millennial founders is closely tied to a cause or charity.

Forbes has called Millennials “the most generous generation.” In fact, “Millennials give more than twice as much of their money and time to charitable causes as either Baby Boomers or Gen X.”

4. We’ve Led the Way Through the Technological Revolution

Millennials weren’t born into technology. Instead, our childhoods were marked by the evolution of technology.

We are the only generation of kids and teens who drooled over flip phones (Can you remember how badly we wanted phones with full keyboards?).

We are the first group of people to navigate our teen and college years with social media. 

While some boomers saw these screens and immediately assumed they equated to laziness, Millennials have taken technology and transformed the workforce.

Say what you want about “influencers” and “content creators,” but 83% of them are making over $140,000 each year (Comparably).

Is our relationship with technology perfect? Absolutely not.

But does it make this generation a bunch of lazy losers with terrible work ethics? Absolutely not.

We aren’t just telling our kids that they can be whatever they choose and work for, we’re showing them.

5. We Are Adaptable

When you think about technology, there’s only one thing that’s absolutely true: it’s always changing.

And as the generation that was most impacted by the development of technology, we also are easily adaptable.

Or maybe it’s because of all of the historical, world-changing events that shaped our adolescence.

Change is the only thing that’s stayed the same in our lives — so we aren’t afraid of it. We embrace it, and we model it for the next generation.

6. We Are Changing the World

After Inc. did a study of Millennials, these were a few of the phrases they came away with:

“Millennials are everyday changemakers.”

“Millennials seek out possibilities.”

If that makes you uncomfortable, we get it. But maybe that has more to do with you than with us.

We are go-getters who have been thrown into an ever-changing world, often without any kind of support or tools to figure out how and what to do.

And now we’re normalizing emotional, physical, and mental health for our kids. We’re working towards racial equality.

Good things are happening amidst the chaos, and I’m proud to be part of it.

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Kaylee Strozyk
Hi, I’m Kaylee! I’m married to a really handsome nerd and we have a five year old daughter and a three year old son. We moved to Edmond in 2019 from Buffalo, NY and immediately knew that Oklahoma was our true home. I’m a full-time freelance sales funnel copywriter for successful online businesses, and I blog about transforming my home on a budget, by myself, around two little kids at Mama and More. Every day is a new adventure and I do my best to appreciate the ride.

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