The other night, I found myself recalling a vivid childhood memory of going to the circus. What really stuck out was not the show itself, but rather an event that followed. As the curtains began to close and the crowd prepared to leave, a young boy sitting next to me started to cry for more. In order to silence his screams, his mother handed him a lollipop and promised to get him a balloon on the way out.
Belonging to the generation of instant gratification, we were always bathed with parental praise and attention. We were rewarded for bad behavior merely to keep our mouths closed, and now living in a society both surrounded and reliant on technology, we are viewed as lazy, high-maintenance and self-entitled.
Not anymore. The truth is that the face paint has come off and the balloons have popped. The millennials are all grown up, and now considered the nation’s largest living generation, we enter the workforce with wide eyes and open arms.
I believe my generation has come to grips with the impending challenges of climbing the corporate ladder. We are no longer children waiting to collect our trophies. Thanks to the Great Recession, our economy hasn’t robustly grown in more than a decade, and with stiff competition in the job market, what I think we want most is to be trusted to do the hard work on our own and to demonstrate that we can.
While we may be seen as high-maintenance, we are also high-performers. We value experience over materialistic possessions. We look to build wholesome relationships, and most importantly, we strive to make our childhood aspirations a reality. Once kicking and screaming for our way, we are now taking that energy and applying it to achieve these sought out dreams. We are, in fact, blowing up a deflated balloon.
As I face these challenges entering the workforce, I’m actually motivated to work harder with fewer expectations. This next chapter is unknown, but I am embracing it with an open heart and open mind.
— Katherine Kuntz, Intern