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Kids These Days Millennials. I know. I get it. Even the word--millennials—sounds ominous, right? Can’t you almost hear the rising crescendo of the Da-dumf . . . Da-dumf from the JAWS soundtrack? I’m joking, of course, but let’s be honest: millennials are different. Born between 1980—1994, this generation has a reputation for being soft and entitled. They evoke eyerolls from Gen Xers, and apocalyptic mutterings from Boomers. They’re wired differently. They’re digitally driven, digitally motivated and sometimes even digitally enhanced. These rascals were hatched around the time the internet was invented, so they never had a chance to be normal! They can’t do things that older people can do. Really important things. Like dialing a telephone. Reading a map. Or using a card catalog. Without these basic life skills, you might wonder, how would they ever fend for themselves? Well, it turns out, their talents lie elsewhere. For instance, they can book a reservation on Open Table before you can put your glasses on, dial the number, and ask to speak to a real, live person. They can call an Uber quicker than you can spell it. They can jot down notes on their phone before you can find old school tools like pen and paper. They can order groceries and have them delivered before you can decide if getting out in the rain is worth it. Only a super sharp millennial, or a beloved daughter, would give up an evening wading through a colossal header/footer/page number mishap in a 360 page document . . . all to help a technically challenged middle-ager. Thanks sweet Bree :) Pretty impressive, right? Well, sure, those are generalizations, but let me tell you a true story that involves a friend . . . of a friend . . . of a friend. This lady, I won’t say her age, because that would be rude, but let’s just say she qualifies for AARP. She’s a writer. She’s written a few screenplays, some novels, and finally, at this …ahem . . .mature stage in her life, she is called upon to “get a website.” She does her research. You know, the ads that pop up on Facebook? ANYBODY can create a website, the flashy ads say—in an hour! How cool is that? Now I …uh … this lady, considers herself to be reasonably intelligent, so she generously pencils in a whole week on her calendar. That should do it. Fast forward a month later. Why? Because I . . .I mean, this friend . . .doesn’t want to relive it. Let’s just say this reasonably intelligent woman has now been reduced to a miserable basket case. Truly wrecked. Consumed with despair and self-doubt. How would she ever publish a book when she couldn’t even create a website in a month? Much less an hour! Surely this was a sign that her time had passed, and it simply wasn’t meant to be. And then, one day, in a particularly bad moment of dejection, she receives a text. (What? You thought it would be a letter in the mailbox?) Yes, a text. And in that one magnificent, glorious, “ding” . . .everything changed. Her burden lifted. A month of frustration instantly fell away. All because a smart, capable, and kind millennial—let’s call her Rachel—rescued her. “Of course,” Rachel said. “I can totally do a website for you! It won’t be a problem at all.” Folks, this wasn’t just a halfhearted toss of a life preserver. This was an all-out SEAL Team mission complete with enthusiasm, willingness and confidence. Amid a horrible pandemic, Rachel showed great fortitude and patience with me. Yes, me. And beyond that, I acquired a whole slew of life skills from her, and learned the benefits of virtual teamwork. So now, as we slowly tip-toe our way out of the Covid 19 crisis, I want to celebrate not only our seniors, who endured the brunt of the pandemic of 2020, but also our young, whippersnapper millennials, like Bree and Rachel, whose digital cleverness kept us laughing amid the fear. Gave us hope. Lifted our burdens. Bravo to all millennials! You make our world better! Hallie Lee Take a look around. Sign up for my newsletter. Share a post about your favorite millennial. 😊
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