My parents grew up in a time when their parents served in World War Two and came back expecting everyone in the household to step up, to help. This was a different way of life. A life where they were highly encouraged to help each other and do something for others. Instead of encouraging their kiddos to do the same, my parents encouraged us to be whatever we wanted. I have believed in that. I truly have believed that I can be whatever I want and I think much of our generation has believed this too. However, why are we receiving so much backlash for being lazy, bad workers, and self-proclaimed creatives?

The generations that came before us encouraged us to be anything we wanted and now they are criticising us for doing just that. Generation Z has been noted for being lazy, non-hard working, demanding, and selfish. I think some of these things are true, we aren’t like other generations and that is clear. We do what we think is best for us. We prioritize our mental health, well-being, and we know what we want. This has been misunderstood as lazy but misunderstand no more. Generation Z has grown up and developed in such a transitional time, we can download anything on your phone or solve any of your computer problems in under one minute and this comes naturally to us. Most of us are educated in diverse ways, we know a lot about many things. We have been exposed to self-education through the internet, we are problem solvers, we are environmentally cautious, and we are strong advocates for ourselves and others. Generation Z has so much to offer the world… if only we were taken seriously. 

I have noticed a few things in my adulthood working in the Design Field; one thing being that it is hard for me to be taken seriously as a young person. Many have made passive comments about my choice to go to the University of Wyoming for a degree in design. My opinions on styling or dressing clients in the shop have not been taken into consideration unless backed by Arcy. My first job post-college was full of encouragement to work 60+ hours a week, come in on weekends, and stay at your computer for 10 hours a day without a break, but never encouragement to be creative or think for yourself. All this and more has been a large wake-up call to me that people do not always hope for you to follow your dreams as a result of not truly believing in you. 

I suppose this is the lesson that young Millennials and Gen Z will have to learn. We must believe in ourselves, validate our own opinions, and be sure to prove that we have something to say and that it is worth listening to. This has been a growing pain to me as I have entered adulthood. I have always been an observer, soft-spoken, and very go-with-the-flow. These traits have benefited me for the majority of my life however, I have found them to be less useful as I get older. I have a young face and a soft voice and often am not heard or listened to. Moving forward, I have been giving it my all to speak up and make sure my opinions, ideas, and thoughts are heard and respected. It is unlikely that young Millennials and Gen Z will capture the full attention of the generations that preceded us but don’t underestimate us, as I believe we are capable of great things.

MY GENERATION words by Cade Hawks

I was born in 1996 and so I ride the line of Millenial and Gen-Z. My generation feels like it was one of the last to grow up without computers and iphones, but also we were the youngest to be introduced to this new technology. My generation is able to adapt fairly quickly to change, where when comparedt older generations they seem to struggle a little bit more. Since my generation was one of the last to see the analog world, we are able to look past “the ways things have always been done”. This is different from our Boomer and Gen X friends. They grew up with the pressure to get a good paying job, work your way up in the company, get married, settle down and have kids. My generation are the kids resulting from them. We were told that anything is possible, and when we grow up we can be and do whatever we wanted. This made us dreamers, but it also took away a little bit of our grit. 

While making my way into the workforce I have worked with people from all kinds of generations, backgrounds, and experiences. I will say that from my experience, Boomer and Gen X people can be difficult to work with. There is a level of entitlement that is just hard to get through. On the otherside, I have worked with some incredibly lazy and privileged Millenials. We need to start coming to some sort of an understanding if we are going to move forward. 

The values and mindsets of these generations inadvertently comes out with how they dress. There are of course exceptions in every generation, but in general there seems to be some pretty big differences. From what I have observed my generation loves to thrift shop. We cannot afford to shop at big luxury stores so we have set our eyes on pieces from the past to create something unique. We are aspirational shoppers, so we will save up and get something special for ourselves. Although this is rare and most of my friends would rather spend their money on things other than clothes. Boomers, from what I have observed, either care way too much about fashion or not at all. People either wear luxury, such as Gucci, or shop fast fashion retailers in order to get the best deal they can get. I remember after living by myself for a few years and seeing my dad and him expressing that I have “gone for the ANTIFA look”. I was wearing army surplus pants, a thrifted black tee, a black beanie, and my skate shoes. This look is very normal for people in my generation, and it never occured to me that Boomer’s might hate this outfit. For me, it was inexpensive, somewhat sustainable, and functioned. I guess maybe I react the same when I see someone wearing pants that are too small, boat shoes, a poorly tucked in button up, and a comb over. Regardless, our life experiences have shaped us in ways that might seem foreign to others. But it is important to remember to take a step back and think: why are they like this? It’s probably not their fault, and they are just a product of their environment. 

Overall, we can both learn from one another. My generation can take inspiration from Boomer’s work ethic and willingness to get things done. On the other hand, Boomer’s can learn from my generation that its ok to stand up for yourself and take the time off. In the end balance is always key. We can’t have the most perfect working environments, but we can start to learn from eachother and work towards building something amazing.