I get it. The whole generation thing. We're different. And change is hard. On Aaron Sorkin's awful, awful show The Newsroom, Jeff Daniels' character starts the show off by telling a 20-year-old girl that she's a member of the "worst. generation. ever." You're right Jeff. And our music sucks, too!
Jeff Daniels enjoying our parents' money.
Putting aside the crotchety-old-man-ness for a second, Jeff doesn't seem to realize that we are the way we are because he raised us! Well, not him specifically. Unless you count Dumb and Dumber. Which we Millennials made our parents go and see with us, you're welcome. Kids were different when you were growing up. Parents were also different. My Grandfather raised my Dad in a very different way than my Dad raised me. And the results are decidedly different, for better or for worse.
My Dad loves to tell stories about growing up in the 60s with his Dad. My Grandfather started a business in his 20s called DeStefano Studios which made mannequins and sold store fixtures. Store Fixtures are basically furniture for stores. My dad tells me time and time again that when he grew up, it was Papa's way or the highway. His favorite story to tell goes something like this:
“John Sakameno wanted to go to the baseball game on a Wednesday after school. I told Papa that I would be going to the game and missing work that day. Papa said, “Have fun at the game, and good luck finding a place to live.”
WHAT? But that was life. Parents were different. You worked for the family business because he said so. You had the life he wanted you to have. It was his house, his rules. If you didn't like it, no problem. Get out! And these were not empty threats. He threw my Uncle John out of the house because he didn't like the girl he was dating. John went on to become a successful lawyer.
This harsh business model worked great for DeStefano Studios. It thrived for a very long time because my father, my aunts, my uncles, none of them had a choice! They worked for DeStefano Studios or they found a new place to live. Not that it was all bad. My dad had a home, a wife, a son, and a vacation house by the time he was 29. All because my Grandfather was a jerk. If you live in my house, you contribute to it! That was his motto. And it worked. My dad is the hardest worker that I know. And I'm not judging my grandfather for it, that's just the way it worked back then.
80s Glamour Pic
But it really must have sucked. Because when my dad raised me, he told me over and over again that I could do whatever I wanted, I could be whatever I wanted, I could have whatever job I wanted, and I always could come home if I needed to. Sure, he made me work. I worked for him installing store fixtures, moving slatwall, etc. and HATED IT. Every Saturday at 8, he'd tap on my feet until I started kicking him. Then there'd be the Half-Hour of Silence on the way to the job as I sulked. Man, do I hate manual labor. Moving shelves, boxes, gridwall, slatwall, cash wraps, up stairs, down stairs. One time I wore sandals to work, then dropped a full sheet of slatwall off the wall onto my toe. The only time I've ever dropped the slatwall. As my shoe pooled with blood from my now separated big toe-nail, I thought, "Oh good. I don't have to carry anything." Then after about a half hour I was carrying things again. Neosporin will heal anything.
So I was empowered to do what I want and be what I want. So what did I do? I discovered that I'm very creative. My dad made me get piano lessons, so I'm musical. I loved to act so I did the drama program. My parents let me follow my dreams. And now I'm barely making it as a freelancer in NYC. A far cry from a home, vacation home, wife and son. But I love my job.
There is no "worst. generation. ever." There are only different generations. It's a pendulum. My grandfather grew up with no money, was forced into a corner, worked his ass off and thrived. He taught my dad to work hard because if he didn't, there'd be no money. And my dad then let me to flex my brain so I wouldn't have to break my back everyday, like Papa made him do. So thank you for allowing us to do what we want and be what we want. You can't have appreciated your parents making those decisions for you. And we Millennials will probably raise our kids a little differently, too! Since we have less money, our kids will have to work more and we'll probably treat them a little more like my grandfather treated my dad. And that's okay.
So Jeff, instead of complaining about how things are, use some of those mountains of cash you have to HIRE US. Our brains are really quite nice.