Who Run The World? Millennials.

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Before I further the stereotype of an already overly stereotyped generation, let me throw this disclaimer out; these are my observations based on my minimal experience as a Millennial working alongside fellow Millennials in the wake of yet another Millennium. Even though Millennials have been established contributors to the American tax paying system for over a generation–we are still the topic of debate when it comes to the workplace.

Fear. I believe Millennials are analyzed so intimately because we are feared. By who? Our predecessors and makers, the Baby Boomer Generation. They fear us. We the boom to their ill-conceived bang. And not a silly fear like most first time parents undoubtedly entertain imagining their snotty toddlers potentially running a nation. Although, anyone with an eye on American knows how that hypothetical fear panned out. No, the Baby Boomer generation fear us, because they fear change. And Millennials have, for better or worse, irrevocably changed the way individuals interact with and within the workplace.

Most Millennials have felt the suffocating challenge of growing up under the weight of Baby Boomer values before we’ve gotten anywhere near a career. High School, we were advised to choose colleges based on their employment rate. In College, we were told to pursue a degree with a career that offered high salary positions. We were never told to choose a career through the measure of our personal happiness. No. The goal was always about being good enough. Good enough to fulfill this watered-down version of, what was left of, the American Dream.

But a generation can change all that, and Millennials did. We chose the literal pursuit of happiness. The pioneering of a new American Dream. A dream that measures success by it’s internal value. It’s fulfillment. Our happiness. So, who run the world? Happy people.