This topic contains 10 replies, has 7 voices, and was last updated by 
James Mitchner 1 year, 6 months ago.
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I am the oldest person in my office, having eschewed management roles, and instead, choosing individual contributor positions. My current role sees me working with a plethora of 20-somethings, whose cultural frames of reference are far removed from mine. The Gross Sisters, the Pride Family, lemonade braids, cultural appropriation, the desire for someone to clean their homes, cook their meals, and lay out a yellow brick road for them. I’m stupified. My 20’s were made of working hard, saving money every way I could, eating off a card table, building furniture out of boards and bricks, and carving out an enjoyable existence on nickels and dimes. My own children, who are 20 somethings, own their own home, have replaced the roof, added a wood stove, landscaped their yard, added an orchard, cook their own meals, and camp, dirt bike, hunt, and hike on the weekends. And, I might add, they do it on a salary less than a teacher’s! Somehow, they missed the in-service on being served and victimized. These 20 somethings I work with spend hundreds of dollars on fancy weekend meals and drinks, live with their parents or off government grants, make more than most their age, and still feel deprived. I’m going nuts….any advice?
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Wow!
We saw something very similar when my eldest daughter went away to college. Her first semester, she lived in the dorm apartments with a roommate. They had a shared kitchen and each had their own room and bathroom.
Well, my daughter was perfectly fine, cooking her meals, doing her laundry, making good grades. But other girls absolutely could not handle life on their own. They were always asking my daughter to help them with the simplest things, “borrowing” tea and sugar, dealing with stains. It was ridiculous. My daughter finally moved out of the dorm into a regular apartment after one semester because she just couldn’t handle mothering an entire building.
I think kids like ours are not the norm these days. It can really be tough to be around a bunch of people who see the world so differently.
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My 19 year old nephew informed us he is going to try to save up enough money to move out into his own apt when he’s 30. “Try” we asked. Yes, it’s hard since he pays his own way currently. (He lives at home with his mom, does not contribute to utilities or groceries but does pay his cell phone bill, gas and 1/2 of his car insurance). I am in a amazed that she finds this not just acceptable but fabulous. It is sad that they can’t see the problem here but I would suspect they are in the majority these days.
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Daisy…good for your daughter. Yes, mothering a whole dorm would be rough. I’m finding doing that with this bunch is exhausting, too.
My sons feel that they are unique, and are having a hard time finding someone who shares their values.
PeppyP…I’m speechless! One of the women I work with wonders if she should still live with her Mother. Yes, she decided, a free ride is very nice to have. She makes a good salary and spends it all traveling and not helping with any living expenses. Sheesh!
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Daisy, on my senior trip in high school, I discovered that most girls had no clue how to hand wash a skirt. Seriously?
In college, a room mate dictated her notes to her mommy over the phone and her mommy typed, printed, and overnight FedExed them to her. No, the room mate was not working full-time.
Other college girls had never shucked corn. I should have asked them if they ate it without shucking at home? :-/
I worked minimum wage and similar jobs after college and one time paid for gas for a friend who made twice as much money as I did and lived at home with her parents. Nothing wrong with a girl living at home, but I’m pretty sure her bills were lower than mine.
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I know every generation complains about the next one, or even the previous one.
I have had a few ex-GF, some same age, some older, a few younger who could not boil water.
But based off my observations, and some of the horror stories I have heard from my daughter (she is in college), there seems to be more of a group-think, herd mentality and or someone else will make the decisions.
Not saying all. But those with going into college/life with knowledge of how to take care of themselves are seemingly a minority.
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Well, just read this. Perfect illustration depicting the fresh crop of useless eaters coming out of our educational institutions.
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Whoa!
I see a few key words in there.
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Yes, JM, saw that story today. We live in the west, which, in general, has a different relationship with firearms than those back east. If you live on a ranch, a gun is a necessity. Once, some young nieces from St. Louis and the DC area flew out to visit us. They were horrified that someone sitting next to them on the plane was reading “Guns and Ammo”. They were petrified! I just read a story about a guy in Alaska that was buying generators after the earthquake because he didn’t want to lose his game meat. In Alaska, hunting is a way of life, but those who live in cities would never understand that because they’re so used to buying small amount of prepared food at a corner store.
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I agree that the 20 something generation is very needy and self absorbed. But honestly its the way they were raised so some of that blame goes to the parents. I needed a sitter a few months back and was asking church folks if they knew anyone. Well, my mom said she knew an 18 year old girl who was great with kids. So she gives me her number and says “this is her mom’s cell phone number, she handles her schedule”, I said “sorry, I am not comfortable leaving my children with an adult who still needs mommy to manage her life”. Gheesh! When I was 18, I had a car, my own apartment and three jobs. My cousin still has both of her adult children living with her and neither pays bills but both are in college and have full time jobs and advanced degrees. So whose fault is that? And her 14 year old still sleeps in bed with her and her husband. Super weird, and yes I have told her my opinions about it in a respectful way. The adults have crippled their children by doing everything for them. I have worked side by side with these whiny millenials and its very exhausting to say the least. But honestly their parents are worse! “Oh, my poor son! He has so many speeding tickets! Its going to take me forever to pay them and get his license straightened out” this is a comment my 55 year old coworker said about her 27 year old son who lived with her and had no job while she worked 2 jobs. So I put the blame on the adults who raised them. And by the way, I told her she was hurting her son by not forcing him to be an adult and be accountable and my coworkers gasped like I committed a mortal sin.
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This was my safe place when I was nineteen!
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