So I have to admit to rolling my eyes hard at being referred to, or even hearing the term “millennial”. I was born in the 80s so I feel like I have a great appreciation for the life that was the 80s. The music, the culture and just the overall vibe of the 80s. Then being a kid AND a tween in the 90s to me was the even better part. Again, another decade of great music, culture and really the peak of what I thought “the good life” to be. There were tough moments, but the 90s were a time that showed me, from watching my parents, how to work through difficulties. The 90s had the best television shows, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, A Different World, In Living Color, Martin, Living single, Friends, Seinfeld, and even more age appropriate, Reading Rainbow!!!! Hek, need I say more? seeing those shows as a youngin’ showed us what to look forward to in life. There was the birth of “pop journalism” the MTV, Kurt Loder, Suchin Pak and Sway days. Being a communications major in college was founded on my love for MTV, the hosts, the music.
An article from, The Mental Floss, says that based on research from the Pew Research Center, our understanding and having lived through 911 and going through the recession as young adults is what classifies us in the group and term “millennial”. That part, I’m actually ok with. Because yes, we did go through and process what 9/11 was. And yes we did go through that awful recession as young adults. Too young in my eyes to process and truly capitalize on it, but yes we were young adults fighting through it. Speaking for myself, I def didn’t capitalize the way I wished I had. Think about it, we were fresh out of college, no money, crazy debt and hardly any jobs in sight. Heck, just after all of that I think we deserve our own category, not just “millennial”. You see the term millennial, to me? has a connotation of being “entitled” and “unappreciative”. And that’s not what I believe to be characteristics of anyone born in the 80s. If anything, we learned the value of life, the good, the bad and the ugly of it. And we worked extremely hard to get to where we are. We didn’t ‘grow up on the internet’ we weren’t social media famous, we worked bit for bit and piece by piece to found our success in life. Nothing against anyone that did, but we are for the most part, the opposite of that.
Here are the exact stats for specific birth years:
The Silent Generation: Born 1928-1945 (73-90 years old)
Baby Boomers: Born 1946-1964 (54-72 years old)
Generation X: Born 1965-1980 (38-53 years old)
Millennials: Born 1981-1996 (22-37 years old)
Post-Millennials: Born 1997-Present (0-21 years old)
Cardigan: Primark (similar here)
White Tee: Asos
Jeans: Asos
Boots: Stuart Weitzman
Purse: Zara (but similar one on sale for $39! here)
Hat: Forever 21