Read This Before You Underestimate The Millennial Generation

Generation Y: The Millennials, the Echo-boomers. The delusional. We are believed to be the most narcissistic and delusional generation of the bunch born over the last 50 years. We were raised overprotected, over-provided for, over-praised.

Hell, we were overed in pretty much everything. In theory, there is actually nothing wrong with that – except in reality, this kind of nurturing creates a fallacy of the real world: the world that’s waiting for us once we leave the cocoon of our Gen X parents.

We are rumored to be the overconfident; the Godfathers and Godmothers of our predecessors; the Dons of our own little bubble and the best in our own little way as we believe it. We are the Apple of the phones. We credit the number of Facebook friends to be a recognized social title unrivaled by any other title out there (PhD? Say what?!). In fact, the 852,000th follower on my five different InstaApps has just confirmed my awesomeness. After all, numbers don’t lie; let’s just get that straight.

But then there is more! We are branded as the lazy generation, with high and unreal expectations – both personally and professionally. Now, I am not the over-ambitious type but when I realized I had finished 6 months of my first job (right after university), I had imagined that I would be promoted to a senior level within my team as a recognition for my great work. Little did I know, a senior level required a minimum of 1.5 to 2 years’ experience in the same career path (if not the same job). What?! But I’m already doing what a senior does – now, why would anyone go complete retard and hire someone new to do the job I am already doing?

Alas, soon enough, my six month talk with my boss reduced my overtime hours and my excellent performance to a mere “compliance and execution of my employment contract”. Great. Never have I felt more degraded as I realized I have become an insignificant part of the labor force – and all of this until the age of 65. My expectations? Shattered.

Generation Y: the why, yes I know-it-all and can-do-it-all offspring. Are we? And can we?  So how come we have acquired such a reputation of being (semi) spoiled and lazy big brats with such big heads? In contrast to all of the above (and often forgotten) we are also the most open-minded generation, accepting all kinds of change into our circles as well as initiating dialogue about subjects which thus far were considered taboo. In fact, our very overconfidence has created an aura of belief that we can make a difference.

Yes, we are a part of Generation Me and by definition, that only refers to me, myself, and I but these three people ultimately belong to the greater group of Gen Y. With this kind of power, the power of a whole generation, we are equipped with the right attitude and mind-set to create change in the society that we live in. We are out-of-the-box thinkers whose arrogance is blurred over modesty and we all know: those who made a real difference were not your average shy-stare-down-at-your-shoes-while-talking-types. No, they were the real deal, ready to take on the world, fearless, fierce, and – frankly – also a little naive.

But naivety is good, because ignorance is bliss. Our bubble is not popped and whatever we have in it is exactly what we need to succeed. We are equipped with the ‘tude, the smile, the energy, and the faith that we will prosper and thrive. So I say, this weekend: we raise a celebratory glass of bubbly and utter “Cheers to Gen Y” as we smile with pride: change is a-coming.