Millenium Me Gen

Our newest breed, Millenniums, are said to be selfish, spoiled "youngsters" who think only of themselves and no one else; that they have been privileged with all the post war ( pick one) benefits. They look good, feel good and don't do a lot of good. But let's take a second look at that judgement that, I think, is quite unfair. Why I say this, is that I know a couple of them who are bordering on being Millies. Yes, they have straight teeth, good educations and loving parents even though they don't live together any more which is the norm these days. One is, after a university degree and a couple more years in a specific field, employed, and the other is working her way into her planned future. It looks ideal from the outside but it is incredibly hard work to get that far. Millies who are in the same position don't get there as easily as it looks. They face competition right from the day they are born. Competition is frowned on by well-meaning educators of the young, but it is, first of all, what makes us the alpha species and the successful creatures we are today. Second of all, it hones us into finding out about what personal attributes we have to use in order to best succeed. In the past, there wasn't the kind of competition there is now. You could plan your future and work toward it without having to scratch to find a part time job in order to educate yourself. Jobs for teens were plentiful and paid well enough for you to save money. (Who saves money today?) You went to the institution of your choice and took the courses that you wanted. You spent happy years plying the profession or job you wanted to be in. You married, built a house, had children and eventually retired, Tick and tock. It's not like that now. First, an education is horrendously expensive beyond high school, and if you do hit the halls of ivy, you will likely, unless your parents are wealthy, have a gigantic loan dogging you for a very long time when you leave with your diploma or degree. And good luck finding the field that you educated yourself for. You will likely marry late, if at all, and live under a roof that is mortgaged to the hilt with your two and half children who will naturally want everything their parents had, and certainly what their friends and neighbours have. That's the good news. The bad news is that life gets in the way, as is said, and marriages crash, jobs end, mortgages default and unseen disasters happen that knock you off the lovely future you planned. So what is the answer? What the Millenniums have, that we more modest previous gens didn't have, is big egos. And you need a good solid ego, the strength within your strong, well care-for and attractive body, to carry on and carve your rightful space in this complex world.