By Madison Carmenate
Introduction
It was the decade of the millennial generation, a generation that differs from those before, firstly with their characteristics. Millennials “are generally regarded as being more open-minded and more supportive of gay rights and equal rights for minorities” (Main 1). Isn’t that something? After all, all it takes is someone to lead the way to support people, for just being who they are. Mind you, the millennials are in their thirties already, and, for most of their lives, they have seen it all.
Timeline of Major Life Events
- 1981: The Supreme Court makes History! “Sandra Day O’Connor was sworn in as the first female judge preceding the Supreme Court” (Schulman). She was a legend and trailblazer as she was the first female Supreme Court judge but certainly not the last.
- 1983: Hello to searching the web! The internet became known on January 1st, 1983. “The way millennials interact and communicate with the world around them is another defining feature. Millennials came of age during the explosion of the internet” (Nelson). Imagine being introduced to a feature that we all take for granted today.
- 1999: A senseless act at Columbine High School occured this year. It was a morning unlike any other, that is before tragedy struck. It was a tragedy for the many lives that were stolen. A recent analysis found that “since the Columbine shootings in 1999, there have been 10 school shootings every year on average in the United States” (“Teen gunmen kill 13 at Columbine High School”). Now, this is what millennials mean when they say we need to bring about change to our country to protect ourselves and others.
- 2008: Get out there and vote! Millennials have brought about several changes, including their vote for presidency. ”Millennials were teenagers or young adults during the 2008 election, and they contributed mightily to the youth vote that helped elect the first black president” (Steed). Now, that is an example of how millennials see our country. Imagine if they didn’t vote. We wouldn’t have had the first person of color to become the president of the United States of America.
- 2020: This year brought upon an economic recovery for the second time. Millennials have lived through (economic) times of trouble. They have lived through it not once but twice now. They have seen their economy take a turn in 2008, due to The Great Recession, and present-day with the pandemic. Many are still affected, as “[t]hese types of things have what are called scarring effects. They have long term effects on wages. They tend to move people down a different wage path” (Kurtzleben). The pandemic makes the future for the millennials uncertain, but they have the resilience and the hope to make it through.
Conclusion
These are only a few of the major life events that occurred during the millennial generation, a generation that has faced tragedy, resiliency, innovation, and change in political power. Therefore, without millennials, we could have had a very different response to these events. The millennial generation has been an asset to our society and will continue to do so for the generations to come.
Sources
Kurtzleben, Danielle. “Here We Go Again: Millennials Are Staring At Yet Another Recession.” NPR, 8 June 2020.
Main, Douglas. “Who Are the Millennials?” Live Science, 8 Sep. 2017.
Schulman, Mark. “First Woman to Supreme Court.” History Central, Multieducator, 1996-2021.
Steed, Daryn. “The Global Events That Separate Millennials From Gen Z.” The Sign Post, 8 January 2020.
“Teen gunmen kill 13 at Columbine High School.” History, A&E Television Networks, 13 Nov. 2009.
Photo by Vincent Botta on Unsplash