Do the Generations Really Change?

By:  Alissa Grisler, FCHS

We are the Millennials. We take pictures of ourselves called “selfies” while holding Starbucks cups. We use strange methods of communication called “tweets” that keep our friends informed of our whereabouts 24/7. We listen to strange music from an artist named after an M&M. Because of this, people seem to be afraid of us; and why wouldn’t they be? We sound terrible. But I promise, we don’t bite.

There is the notion that our generation is significantly different than the ones that came before us. Because we grew up with technology we do have slightly different high school experiences, but have teenagers really changed so drastically? Somewhere along the way we all met a lovely friend named hormones. Yes, maybe we have a reputation for being irrational and emotional, but that reputation was around long before we were born. We still face the same problems as teenagers fifty years ago. We still hate homework, we still think our dreamy high school boyfriend is “the one”, and the so-called cool kids continue to outrank the nerds ten to one.

The Millennials may seem foreign to some people, but we are not so scary. Instead of asking girls to go steady, we ask if you want to go out. We go to movie theaters instead of Drive-Ins. Instead of giving their girlfriends their lettermen jackets, guys give flowers and chocolates. However, there are some rites of passage that will never change. Everyone still dreams of being asked to prom, and getting your driver’s license is equally the most terrifying and exciting moment of your life. We still have jobs, and our sweet sixteen is an event to be rivaled with.

In the 50’s, it was hot rods, poodle skirts, and flocks of teenage girls going crazy at Elvis Presley concerts. The rebellious guys were “greasers”, and smoked cigarettes while wearing leather jackets and denim jeans. They were every father’s worst nightmare. Now, that same nightmare comes in the form of baggy pants and oversized hoodies, under which is the dropout who still hangs out in the school parking lot.

Every generation experiences the belief that their generation is superior. Change is never accepted easily, and it always seems that as soon as we adjust, the rug is swept out from under us and replaced with more changes. It makes it difficult to keep up. Still, as the world evolves, society evolves with it. So times change, and fads go in and out of style, but this does not mean any one group “got it right”.

We may not be doing things the traditional way, but who does? With every passing minute trends are changing and we are adjusting to them. We do not walk 10 miles in the snow to school every day because we do not have to. We do not use paper dictionaries anymore because we can get definitions, synonyms, parts of speech, and examples in context in less than two seconds on our phones. But these changes do not make us strangers, in fact, we are more alike than people realize.

Falls Church High School
7521 Jaguar Trail
Falls Church, VA  22044
703-207-4000
www.fcps.edu/FallsChurchHS/

(Students who reside on the north side of Annandale attend Falls Church High School)