What Being A Millennial Means To Me.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what being a “millennial” really means.

Part of me is still very attached to TV shows but sometimes interesting things can come out of watching them. Many of the current shows that are airing now mention current generations in some form or another — an aspect that is actually reflective of these generations. Millennials received much attention and analysis for some time but the attention is now shifting to Generation Z.

If you don’t know much about what these generations are known for, I’ll start by generalizing an entire age group of people (not a very Millennial or Gen Z thing to do). These two generations have brought a rise in social media, selfies, technological knowledge, political awareness, social justice, political correctness, sensitivity, sexual openness and acceptance, gender fluidity, desire for self love, support of marijuana legalization, awareness of racism and sexism, digital nomads, etc. What first comes to mind when I feel into the connection of all of these things? Self awareness.

When I feel into what being a millennial means to me, self awareness is what I think of first. This can be shown in so many unique and diverse ways and has given our generations mixed reviews. On the shadow side, self awareness can be displayed as narcissism, acting self-centered, finding love and approval through likes on a selfie or post, looking at magazines as a resource for how you’re supposed to look, valuing money and material possessions as signs that you’ve “made it” and that you may actually be worth something, and so much more. You can see this in people my age and feel all sorts of judgement and anger about what they choose to care about, but what I see in this pattern is fear.

A fear that we can’t possibly live up to the expectations of generations before us. The generations that were lucky if they could land a lucrative career, get married and have a beautiful family. These were the things that everyone wanted, it was the American dream. But something has shifted in the collective consciousness around this. Houses got more expensive, relationships became more complicated, people were getting tired of not being who they really were or getting what they really wanted. Values changed, passions were different and it was hard for parents to understand. Happiness no longer came with the “typical” life but what it did come with was fear. The fear of not being accepted, of not being loved by our families because we wanted something different, even the fear of not being accepting enough of other people in our generation.

So some turned to the only thing they knew that could prove they were doing something right: likes, follows, and subscribers. Sure, parts can judge this as narcissism and a heavy focus on looks as a means of receiving love, but what’s really interesting is that something amazing started to come from this. Likes and comments were leading to 16 year-olds making money from their passion for make-up artistry. Kids and teenagers were able to do what they loved, from their own home, while going to school and becoming well-known and sometimes even paid. Travelling was made possible through working online and making a living just by talking about their passion for their lifestyle.

So then we feel into the light side of self awareness. This leads to compassion, open mindedness, interest in political and social issues, noticing how we affect others, valuing how we treat ourselves, changing the way we use our words and shift our energy, reevaluating what our passion really is and what we want to do with it, more love and less fear. If I’ve learned anything this past week, it’s that you can’t have the light without the dark.

It feels like it was almost imperative to have a wave of self consciousness. From that blooms the awareness that the approval of others themselves does not lead to happiness, but that their support and your own confidence in yourself can lead to you doing something you really love.

When I see videos of young kids giving motivational speeches, high school students speaking out for their rights, and people my age loving others despite their appearance, race, or sexuality — that’s when I know something’s changing. Collective consciousness is shifting to a higher frequency, and the “evidence” is right in front of our eyes. Some of us are here to be lawmakers, rule breakers, and game changers but if I could feel in my heart one more thing that I want for this ever changing world, it’s more real love, more truth, more heart and soul. We are not victims to our circumstances, we are given every single experience for a reason and we chose it. If we shift the way we see our lives and ourselves we could easily go from powerless to powerful and that, that would change us and the world.

If I could wish for anything it would be for us humans to lay down our weapons and our fists, to set aside our fears of not fitting in or being loved, to no longer need labels or defenses, and to go in. Go into our hearts and feel compassion for ourselves and the parts of us that are scared, first. We can fight and even love on the outside all we want, but the biggest, brightest and most beautifully catalytic change that can happen is inside. We all so badly want something from the world and from others but what if we can find all of that and more right here at home in ourselves.

Raianna Shai is a SoulFullHeart facilitant and social media maven for SoulFullHeart Way Of Life. Visit  www.soulfullheartwayoflife.com for more information about sessions, programs, Unity Meditations, videos, community, etc. Return LOVE in money form: https://www.paypal.me/supportsoulfullheart or visit our Patreon page to become a monthly supporter: https://www.patreon.com/soulfullheart.

Photo: Helena Lopes, Unsplash

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