Why Catholic Millennials Need These Four Urgent Life Skills

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Good ol’ Time, the magazine kept alive by doctors’ office waiting rooms, and its perennial coverage of whatever generation is turning 20 that year.
See Item 18 in the list for Time covers comparison of the one above with the 1990 Gen X issue.

www.buzzfeed.com

18 Things That Millennials Are Made Fun Of That Were Like Totally True For Generation X

<b>Can't we all just agree that if you were 20-years-old in any period of history you were probably obnoxious?</b>
www.buzzfeed.com www.buzzfeed.com
 
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There is something to be said for that, though I suppose we would need to define what it means to be “better off.” In some respects the cost of living was lower because there was a different idea of what people felt were “necessities” – but when it comes to things like health care, education and housing compared to what people earn – I still think it is getting harder for people over time.
 
I think health care has always been a problem for the less well-off in USA. In previous generations, there was just more expectation that if you couldn’t afford health care you were out of luck.

Housing is mostly a problem because people want to continue to live in areas where housing becomes dramatically more expensive. People don’t move easily. If they did, there are still plenty of areas with cheap housing in USA, but people want to continue to live where they are living even if it suddenly turns into San Francisco or Manhattan with the rents.

As for education, I think that’s another case of “different idea of what people feel are necessities” but that could be a whole thread on its own.
 
I can’t speak for the USA anymore, but in places like the UK, housing is more expensive where the jobs are. It’s not like people always necessarily can just find cheap housing and live wherever they like and expect to also readily find a job.
 
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Has this actually been a regular complaint that’s been here since forever, it does seem like life is becoming harder in America (granted we’re not moving from first-world to third world) but I can see where the angst is coming from; rising living costs, seemingly stagnant wages, limited opportunities, a more competitive job field not to mention a climbing national debt (I’m going to be dramatic and say/ask rhetorically that how could millennials not seen the future stolen from them, especially from generations that should have worked on making the world a better place with a brighter future for them, not the opposite) and of course the coverage with media nowadays. It seems understandable why there may be angst, pessimism and negativity? While life does have its seem, has this sort of grumbling always been common and if that is true, maybe things won’t be so bad after all ?
I think health care has always been a problem for the less well-off in USA. In previous generations, there was just more expectation that if you couldn’t afford health care you were out of luck.
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Do you think this not only has been an issue for the poor (at least there is Medicaid where provides a floor) but also the working class? Personally, I’d like to see a solution for the uninsured and the working class; generally it seems like the working class/moderate-income (and lower-income class folks like them) seem to have their own set of difficulties, they don’t qualify for safety, yet they’re not comfortably middle class, would it be accurate for me to say that they live life precariously on the margins? Is there anything that can be done to improve economic security and stability for the struggling masses?
Housing is mostly a problem because people want to continue to live in areas where housing becomes dramatically more expensive. People don’t move easily. If they did, there are still plenty of areas with cheap housing in USA, but people want to continue to live where they are living even if it suddenly turns into San Francisco or Manhattan with the rents.
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I get the whole “moving” argument but it does seem frustrating; what if someone genuinely wants to live in the city and tries to be frugal such as taking mass transit even opting for homemade meals but despite that housing costs are still “killer” and they find themselves unable to save? What if they’re someone who is comfortable or even needs to live in the cities due to things due to a need for transit access or even being available for job opportunities, what recourse is there for them?
 
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I think most of the reason millennials aren’t self sufficient is mostly due to: 1) The pressure that everyone find something to study, however useless and unmarketable, in college. 2) Said college is way too expensive for the average family to help their student. 3) Society is still trying to learn how the internet revolution should fit into our way of life. Young people are the victims of this.

So students end up with a degree that doesn’t give them better job prospects than a highschool diploma and a debt they can’t escape for up to 100K. Why? Because society makes us feel like a failure if we don’t go to college. And then we’re also failures because we don’t have good jobs? Give us a break. We live in the world the older generation made.
 
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If my daughter doesn’t find a job upon graduation from college in a year, I fully expect she may need to move back home for a few month to get on her feet. I don’t think this is a lack of ability to “adult”, it’s just common sense. She will need some time to find a job, save for the first and last month rent (common apartment rental terms), and a little extra cushion. She stays in her old room when she visits, so it will just be an extended visit. She’s doing a good job of adulting now as she juggles 18 hours a semester 5 hours away from her parents, living in an apartment and budgeting her finances.

I don’t care if she makes her bed every day as that’s a personal choice, I do care that she knows how.
 
chessnerd321 said:
The pressure that everyone find something to study, however useless and unmarketable, in college.
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I agree this has become an issue as every employer seems to want employees that have higher education…even if it has nothing to do with the job! Where did tech schools go? I graduated high school in 1970. About 1/3 went to college, 1/3 just entered the workforce immediately and 1/3 went to some type of tech training…from plumbing and carpentry to auto mechanic and welders. Many of these programs were state sponsored and did not leave behind a crippling debt! Why did they go away as well as high school programs that allowed choices geared to these types of careers!
 
DisorientingSneeze said:
I miss making my bed as soon as I get out of it. It set such a productive tone for the day. At present, I’d have to make my bed over top of the sneaky baby who sneaks her way into my bed every night. 😆
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There is a recent book by Admiral William H. McRaven, titled “Make Your Bed: Little Things That Can Change Your Life… And Maybe the World."

I guess it has to do with starting the day with one accomplishment and going on from there.
 
I saw an article about Millennials in the work place vs. older workers.

In the workplace, the Millennial wants the freedom to choose which tasks he or she will do, and then wants the manager to teach them how to do it.

The older worker wants to be given assignments and then for the manager to get out of the way.

Spot on accurate in my experience.

Also in my professional experience, some millennials are perfectly adept at “adulting” and handling workplace responsibilities. Others expect to be recognized as equals to more experienced, more knowledgeable, more senior staff without having earned their place and put their time in. I had to give one young woman a stern but fatherly talking to after she snapped at me (I was her boss) in a meeting between our staff and an outside party.
 
I was taught by Grandma that it’s healthier to let the bed air until after morning tea (which was taken BEFORE the actual breakfast, and then make it. So it’s a good thing your baby is making you wait a while!
 
Pattylt said:
Where did tech schools go? I graduated high school in 1970. About 1/3 went to college, 1/3 just entered the workforce immediately and 1/3 went to some type of tech training…from plumbing and carpentry to auto mechanic and welders. Many of these programs were state sponsored and did not leave behind a crippling debt! Why did they go away as well as high school programs that allowed choices geared to these types of careers!
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Mike Rowe (of Dirty Jobs) makes a compelling case for tech schools and the trades in lieu of college:

 
I think one of the problems with housing here in the U.S. is the requirement that only allows a person/couple to “downsize” ONCE in their lifetime, or you will take a big tax hit (the second time you do it, you have to pay taxes on the “profit” that you will make by selling an expensive house and moving to a cheaper house). Usually couples wait until they are retired and then they sell the big ranch or the Colonial or the tri-level, and buy a cute little pre-fab house in a Senior Community, and they don’t have to take that tax hit…

But if a younger couple wants to downsize and live a simpler lifestyle in a smaller, cheaper house, they realize that moving will mean that they’ll take that tax hit when they are old and possibly unable to raise so much cash.

I think this law should be modified to allow people more freedom to sell"too much house" and move into something that frees up some of their income for expenses other than “mortgage payment.”
 
I absolutely agree that tech schools are a good development, and that college is not a good plan for everyone.

But tech school isn’t a walk in the park!

I think that the fitness levels of some younger people are so poor, and they are more overweight at age 18 than I am at age 61, that tech school might be difficult if not impossible for them to complete. A lot of the trades require a certain degree of fitness and strength.

Also, not everyone has the aptitude to enter a trade! I remember taking a test in high school to measure our aptitude for skilled trades. I was a Straight A student (2nd in my class), and my score on this Trade Test was 13%! I could only answer 13% of the questions on that test–so embarrassing! (Actually, I think my score was lower than that, but I’ve blocked the horror of it in my brain–awful memory! I was so bad on that test that it was actually kind of funny at the time. Other girls did just as badly, so it might have been something that wouldn’t happen to girls today, as they would be tool/tech savvy.)

My husband (who was 1st in his class, so quite the egghead!) scored 100% on that same test!

So it’s a good thing that I’m not the one repairing your airplane, or laying your plumbing!
 
It’s true that many might not have the aptitude for the manual trades or for tech school. But many who do have the aptitude for it are dissuaded by guidance counselors and urged into expensive four year colleges instead.
 
What if you sleep in a hammock? Or in a hot environment and don’t use a blanket or even sheet?
We put our blankets away during the summer. Neither my wife nor I see any value in playing make belief by making up beds with items we don’t use… unless we have guests.
 
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A lot of us millennials would agree. I think it’s somewhat unreasonable to expect 17 and 18 year olds to take out thousands of dollars of loans for a future career. I don’t recall any of us getting any information on how to pick well, and a lot of the prior generation was still in the mindset that you just needed any degree.
 
Yep…Gen Xer here and my parents are both Boomers…I always had the “get a degree, you’ll get a job” talk. Well, I got the degree…and ended up in a job that had nothing to do with it…they didn’t even care that I had a degree. It was admin assist. work so nothing big. I couldn’t find anything with my degree since I had NO experience and didn’t know the right people…sigh… Years later I returned to trade school for a fraction of the cost and am now actually using that certificate…right out of school.

My kids are all Gen Z and I’m pushing trade school over college for the older 2…my third does well in school so college may be the direction she should go and my youngest is too young to be able to tell yet lol.
 
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