Shattered dreams and the quarter life crisis

Despite the current state of the world, millenials "remain optimistic, despite a job-killing recession, two wars and the threat of terrorism" (USA Today).

We are also called "wildly optimistic" by the Atlantic.

Yet even with this optimism, twentysomethings are experiencing what is coined the "quarter life crisis." Instilled by teachers and parents that going to college would lend to a rewarding career and a happy life, many are finding that it may be more complicated than that.

OPB's Think Out Loud did a very interesting show on this phenomenon - many interesting perspectives of young adults finding themselves dissatisfied with where their life is at. Listen to it here.

This "quarter life crisis" is riveting, especially as it relates to efforts to keep kids in school. For the longest time, the reason kids who were disillusioned with school were convinced to stay was the promise that it will pay off financially and they will be happier.  I have used this argument countless times with students.  But now that life has proven otherwise - I wonder how this will influence such a philosophy. What motivation is there for students who are not interested to stay? What perspectives/philosophies/strategies in education need to change in order for the educational system to remain valuable? Our world is changing a lot - and youth are watching and finding fodder for their arguments against the system. My belief was that education led to a better paying and more satisfying job - I know my standards in what I want my life to be like are pretty high, and I know many of my peers experiencing this crisis.  Do we need to re-evaluate what we expect from a job? Do we acknowledge that adult life generally isn't as cool as we were led to believe? Or are there deeper issues at play here?

I find this topic and general research about our generation fascinating.  What are your thoughts?

We are the Millennials

A while back, I was driving in the car, listening to OPB Radio and learned that I am a "Millennial."
Every generation is labelled with a certain culture and is identified to have certain values. These labels or observations about a certain generation shape how future generations see them - in history books, study of pop culture, etc. I am fascinated with how we, the current twentysomethings, or the "millennials" are perceived and understood. What are the trends happening within our peers? What challenges are we facing? How are others understanding our generation? What will we make of how we are being perceived? What are we going to accomplish? And what are we going to be most remembered for?

All of these are questions that fascinate me and I enjoy reading any articles that speak about us. Some of my favorites include:

Pew Research Centers look at the Millennials - Confident, Connected, Open to Change. Information in this article is based on research, and as with all research, interpretation usually speaks louder than the numbers themselves. Some standouts in this article - 52% of millennials say "being a good parent" is important to them, higher than any other category of importance.

USA Today reported that Millennials are increasingly spiritual, but less religious. Church attendance of millennials continues to drop, and if trends continue, many churches will be closing in the future. Some churches are considering alternative methods of reaching millennials. What will churches look like when millennials are the ones leading them? How are our values regarding religion and spirituality influencing culture?

Fascinating results from research about people our age. Does any of this resonate with you? Agree with it, disagree? How does this information influence your decisions? Anything else you notice about our generation and how we think/operate?