The Cherry on Top

By Lesia Semitka // as told by Beatriz Warnes

This society isn’t given enough credit. I’m proud of how far we’ve come, even if my journey wasn’t the easiest. I was born in Ukraine, my family still living their today. I pride myself in my culture and do my best to pass that down to my kids. A person’s culture is what makes them unique, and we can never have enough of that.

I was teased for my name; the spelling, where it came from and how atypical it was. I was called by different names and different ethnicities and was ridiculed for it. Now, it’s celebrated, which was never the case when I was younger. I hear kids in the school asking people about the differences and going on about how cool it is, and it makes my heart swell, but a tinge of jealousy will always be there.

My parents worked hard for their names, which is a part of their culture. I had that hard working side of me passed down and I know many my age are the same. We, as the children of immigrants, created a community of people that were the same. We spoke different languages, but being different is what made us similar.

The languages now are different, and they’re not the kind we were taught by our parents from different countries. They’re learned by the technology I’ve still not grown too used to. Yet, I’m happy we have it. I see the connections people create online and can’t seem to find the bad I’ve heard so much about. I know there’s the stereotype of people my age not endorsing all this new technology, but look at all we’ve accomplished.

I was born into a life filled with one bedroom apartments and having to live paycheck to paycheck. I’m not going to be mad at my kids, or any kids, for not living that way because I didn’t even want to when I was younger. Life was hard, and it’s not place to say whether that’s changed, but that doesn’t mean it’s not better.

Stuck in the Middle

By Jonathan Untch // as told by Beatriz Warnes

Judgment doesn’t get anyone anywhere. There’s no point in older generations critiquing me for the path in life I chose. I got here nearly on my own and no part of that was from those older than me and their criticism. I’m a teacher that tries their hardest to not be hypocritical; I won’t put everyone in a box labeled “entitled” like the one I was put in.

Yes, some Millennials are entitled and yes, I sometimes can be too, but that’s not all we are. If we’re entitled then it occasionally should be allowed. I had to deal with the little amount of jobs available and the heavy increase of college tuition. I didn’t live the same life as my parents or anyone older did, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a good or bad thing; I pride myself in finding that middle ground and using it to my advantage.

My life was interrupted by new, fast technology. I will never understand is when media gets put in a bad light. In the grand scheme of things, technology is such a small part in what society is today. We revolve around each other and not our screens. That too relates to teenagers today. I can basically feel them in my shoes as they find their way through school. Every older generation calls the one below them lazy and it seems as if that trend isn’t stopping.

I too feel misunderstood, like many of those teens. I couldn’t work a minimum wage job and support myself through college, but yes, I was thankful to have my parents there behind me. There was so much hard work and dedication through it that can only be described by my passion to get to where I am now. It is important to find your passion and pursue it and that is what I tell my students.

Life when I was a teen was so very different than the multitude of decades before. I could never consider it bad, therefore, those older don’t deserve to call it that for me.

The Runt of the Litter

By Aidan Trusky // as told by Beatriz Warnes

Time forever changes, as does the things around it. Challenges in the 1900s aren’t things I, someone born after the year 2000, would ever face, not that I would ever want to. Nevertheless, that made those born in that time period more hard working. They never had everything delivered to them on a silver platter, but I guess neither did we.

What was forced onto our plate was the immense amount of new technology. We’re lucky enough to have it, but it seems as if we’re the main ones who actually know how to use it. Media plays a huge role in today’s society, but I can’t imagine what those older than me would do if they did. It’s hard to think about how different everything would be if our lives could switch, even for just one day.

Maybe they would be able to feel the immense amount of pressure we’re constantly under. Things came easier for me because of the town where I live and the bed I sleep in, but times are different now. Where we were raised and where we go to school don’t necessarily correlate to the challenges we face. It’s the things around us, especially the people, that can change a person.

We’re more self aware than any of the generations. I can tell when things are wrong, whether I’m the one doing it or not. My finger constantly scrolls through social media, stopping and staring at some blatant lie everyone posts for the sake of conformity.

It’s the want to fit in that encompasses every generation, but not all of us are like that. We are bringing a new change to this world and it’s one that it needs. I can be different if I want to be because there’s no point in caring. If someone has their own personal beliefs then that’s fine. I’m not caring about something no society will 100 percent agree on, because I choose to care about the person who said it instead.