Dear Millennial’s,
I am sorry you did not have the chance to live in the simplistic childhood us ‘older’ people had the privilege to enjoy. I am only twenty years older than you though it sounds like a lot of years, it’s not. When I was young we got to run our neighborhoods from sun up until sundown without having to ‘check in’ too often because we felt safe and so did our parents.
Never once did I fear someone snatching me while playing outside with my friends on the other side of town. Never once was I scared or even slightly concerned about being shot at school. Never once were we scared to leave home without a phone. We are only a few decades apart give or take, yet our childhoods were completely different.
If I was scared, I could knock on any of my neighbor’s doors and know for certain I could find refuge or help I needed as a child. I was raised a free-range kid and I loved every bit of it. I was given responsibility and trust to behave myself to hold my friend’s hands while crossing the street on the way to the corner candy store to spend .50 cents and get a half a brown bag full of penny candies or a giant freeze pop the size of my seven-year-old body.
Can you imagine letting your seven-year-old out of your sight now days? Its unheard of. You would never see a child in the store by themselves today. But for me and the neighborhood kids back in the eighties it was common daily occurrence if we were lucky enough to get some spare change from our parents. The world we lived in wasn’t nearly as scary as the world we raised you in. I am so sincerely sorry for that.
We got our driver’s license at sixteen without all the fuss you go through today. Drivers Ed was provided at school it was the coolest, we learned to drive with our friends or classmates in the car. We were given more responsibility which made us feel like we had freedom to roam the world at sixteen. It’s incredibly hard to get a job at sixteen now, I’ve discovered most places wont even hire you until your eighteen.
In the 90’s there were plenty of jobs to go around I was working for Burger King at the age of 14 which wasn’t the worst thing in the world because it gave me money to spend at the roller skating rink or for gas to cruise the main street. Our childhoods and school year experiences were drastically different then yours. If we had a problem with someone it never occurred to us that they may shoot us. There were fist fights behind the school, no weapons allowed. Not anything to be proud of, there were bullies, but no body died.
Your generation is one of the first to be bombarded by over stimulation constant information overwhelming you with real news, fake news, bullshit unrealistic programs like the Kardashians and scare tactic news. There is no scientific study that I know of that shows the effect of over stimulation to children but your it, you’re the experiment and I feel like you must learn how to shut it off.
I promise it’s okay and necessary to unplug. You must learn to go outside and cut the noise, so you can listen to the voice inside of you that knows the beautiful soul you are. When you take time preferably out in nature to quiet your mind, magical things happen, you heal yourself from the inside out. This constant noise is not normal, it is not the way of the world, you can and must relax and step away from technology and into nature as often as possible. Its imperative to your soul. Please take to heart that nobody can make you happy but you. Happiness is an inside job.
I am a late bloomer, I went back to school in my thirties and got to borrow money with high interest rates just like you. Had I chosen to go to college at 18 I would have qualified for help and gone to college for a discounted rate that doesn’t seem to be an option for many students now days. I understand the unfairness of the financial burdens thrust upon you just to try and get a head with your education in the real world. This was not always the way of our country, and I do not understand why older people can’t or choose not to see that. Please know we are not all like that. I see you and I feel compassion for your uphill fight.
I am sorry older generations belittle your contribution to the world when what you truly bring to society is compassion and sensitivity to a hardened world that sorely needs you. Please do not give up, I believe in you. I support your drive and passion for a healthier planet, and a more inclusive community, country and world. I love how your generation is unconditionally accepting and supportive of others who are labeled different then you. I see how you care for other less fortunate, I see how beautiful you really are.
I understand that the few of you are caught up in drugs or called trouble or labeled as lazy, but this is the way of the world in all generations. Do not let the debauchery of a few mask the goodness of a whole generation of heart centered innovative creators of our future.
I am sorry society has been hell bent on heavily punishing you for mistakes instead of teaching you the right way and giving you the opportunity to grow and learn from them. I am sorry you had to be overwhelmed with more information you could handle before you were ten. You’ve had access to more information then the previous generations ever had before we were adults.
But listen to me, you are smarter than previous generations no matter what they tell you. Right now, in history you have more access to wisdom and power at your fingertips to learn all you ever wanted to know. You have this incredible opportunity to seize all the information you need to organize and change the world for the better. You are our future and I believe in you. I believe your generation will lead us into a sustainable healthier way of life.
Our older generations and the one before them were taught not to talk about politics or how much we got paid, women were not equal. If you were a minority well, I can’t speak to that, but this is why I love and believe in your generation. You are accepting of everyone no matter how different they are, you need to know how this is so important. Please use your dream of a better world to do what we did not know we could do.
We didn’t know we had any power or influence because we were purposely distracted from participating in how government was ran by being told it wasn’t ‘polite’ to talk about politics. I call BS. Being told to not talk about uncomfortable important stuff, led to dis-involvement in our community and we paid no attention to important deformation of our government that allowed giant gender pay gaps, corporate rule, and a patriarch society that we thought of as normal. Which it is not.
There is no greater transparency as there is today in how our systems are ran, we are at a point in history where we know what we are doing wrong and have science to prove how we can fix it. The dying old school way of ruling the free world with an iron fist in false fear and keep us from thinking you can make a difference. When reality is that you can, and I believe you will make the difference we need to see in the world. Millennial’s I believe in you.
Do not be scared to stand up for what you believe, it is imperative to the world that you do not shrink yourselves. Do not be scared to get involved in what makes you mad, moves your soul, or moves your passions. It is what you were born to do. Even if you can’t do exactly what it is you want, do something close that will lead you there eventually. Patience, dedication and putting one foot in front of the other no matter how long it takes is the only way to success no matter what the television tells you.
P.s. Turn off that stupid t.v. spend as little time as possible on the phone or computer, its keeping you distracted and scared of the beautiful world around you.
I believe when you participate in the world, you will change it for the better. This I know for sure. The world needs you, Millennials you are here for a reason, I believe in you. I believe in a kinder world, healthy environment, and fair government, I believe your generation is going to be the one to usher us in to the peace we are seeking. I believe when you start to pay attention to the workings of the world you will wake up and chose to change it for the better.
I believe you can use the information at your fingertips to research what is that calls to your soul. I believe your time is coming to make your voices heard. I believe that sometimes our children are much wiser then their parents who can be stuck in the illusion of ‘this is how we’ve always done it, so this is how it goes’ this way of thinking is just not healthy or right.
Do not let someone’s opinion of you mean more to you then your own opinion of you. You get to make the rules for your life and if you start now, the happier your future will be. I believe in you Millennials and all younger generations. I am so proud of you when you stand up for what is right, when you stand up for the underdog and when you stand up justice. This is your time to rise, your time to shed light on the world, its your time to be heard.
No matter what you think or been told, the world is listening to you. I am of an older generation and I believe in you.
“The vote is the most powerful form of protest you can do.” Congressman John Lewis
Wishing you an abundance of joyful blessings,
Emy Minzel ~ Adventure Sister
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Stacy Crep ~ Adventure Sister
Emy Minzel 