Many of my friends have positive outlooks notwithstanding this downed economy. In fact, most of them believe they will land in their dream jobs. There's nothing wrong with a good attitude. Being a self-proclaimed realist, I tend to have lower expectations; however, this doesn't mean I don't have high goals. Let's face it, I am not a "smiler" you see around campus.
I will briefly sum up my thoughts about the article.
The article claims that the main driving force behind young adults' dissatisfaction in life is unrealistic expectations. I can attest to that somewhat because I know many people who expect a high paying job straight out of college. If happiness = reality - expectations, I would assume most of us would be disappointed. I, for one, haven't done well in the dream department because I don't always reach or exceed my goals.
Does that make me depressed? Well, at first. It's especially discouraging when I compare myself to some of my better performing peers. Then, you look at your parents or people their age who have/had successful careers and you feel absolutely worthless. Later, I realized I should question the amount of effort I put into whatever I do. Geniuses and smart people exist, but many of the classmates I know who do really well have put forth tons of hours into studying and perfecting their crafts. The take home message: work harder and stop comparing yourself to others constantly. We should learn to appreciate our own metaphoric pasture we spend time nursing and only use others as a reference point for possibilities. Oh, social media is totally not an accurate portrayal of people's lives.
Another important point I took out of the article is chronological. It took me some time to understand that most people didn't just go from college graduate to making $200,000 a year in a blink of an eye. This is when unrealistic expectations set in again. A little research tells me my parents did not start with six-digit salaries straight out of school. In fact, that didn't even happen for the first decade of their careers. Point being, you would have to be a very innovative person or someone with extraordinary skillsets to climb the dollar tree that quickly.
My personal opinion on salaries: I should stop expecting ridiculous items that's only good for showing off. Just cover the bases and we'll work from there. A step at a time.
Attitude is another thing you'll notice in the article. It's true that everyone is special (but is everyone useful? Haha!), but I do believe we let it get to our heads sometimes. Instead of an enabling attitude to overcome obstacles, it has somewhat devolved into the entitlement clause. Yeah, there are plenty of people who think they deserve better when they don't meet the cut.
That's as far as I go when it comes to agreeing with the author on the horrific work ethics of my generation.
A different economic atmosphere does impact the industries. In addition, schooling was much more affordable 30 or 40 years ago compared to the last decade or two. As much as the media play up on the "socialism" fear, it was because of government programs that created opportunities for average joes and janes for them to emerge as the middle class. Unfortunately, our leaders have decided that they want to go a different direction by stop subsidizing higher education, trades, etc. as time progressed and put forth full effort into sustaining the ailing Social Security program along with the broken Medicaid system.
Back home in Pennsylvania, I've heard many cries for more monetary support our K-12 education. I never believed money can solve everything. Pouring oil into a broken engine won't make it run smoother. My concern has always been not knowing where exactly the funds go (or they report something ridiculous like $2000 for a picnic table). Teachers should be paid well. But, when teachers' salary can match or exceed the average local income, I think there's something to be said about the situation. Not to mention, it wasn't too many years ago when I heard of investigations on certain high profile characters in the system.
Arguably, the Baby Boomers are the backbone of the voting population (along with people who are probably have too much free time due to various reasons that won't be gone over here). With a party system that only cares about getting elected, you wonder why officials are less American than a legal immigrant.
Bottom line is, I can see there are some underlying issues with young folks today. Although, I highly doubt scrutinizers from the previous generation can draw a blanket statement about everyone. Too many factors are involved and it's hard to say who would do better in each situation.
I do believe, however, that we should all forge our own destinies and stop imagining greener pastures with flowers and a unicorn vomiting rainbow in your backyard too soon. It'll come, but probably not right away.
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