SEEMIA: Another Millennial

An Eye for an Eye

2011-10-26T02:27:00.000-04:00

Thanks to last week's vision check-up, I've decided to buy TOMS sunglasses.

Why? A week after my optometrist appointment, I am still bitter about the cost of my new pair of glasses. People with good vision have no idea how difficult it is to be dependent on glasses or contacts, but more importantly, they don't have to bear the financial burden of optometry appointments, glasses (frames and lenses!) and contacts. It adds up quickly and definitely hits where it hurts the most - my wallet.

Thinking about it though, I've realized that I am so fortunate to have vision insurance. While I'm unlucky (and genetically cursed) with my terrible vision, I'm lucky that I have insurance and the financial means to pay for glasses/contacts. The more I thought about it, the more I realized how much more of a curse my vision would be without these things.

So, how would a poor person in a developing country survive? Since I'm more or less blind without glasses/contacts, how would someone with my vision problems survive in poverty?

That's where TOMS comes in. Yes, I own two pairs of the shoes that at first seemed over-priced but now are an indispensable part of my wardrobe. More importantly, TOMS is now employing their "one for one" philosophy for sunglasses and sight. When I buy a pair of sunglasses, I am providing a person (with the same vision issues I have) with prescription glasses that will help them to see.

Social consciousness and social good have seemed to be the latest fad for corporations, but TOMS has built their company as a movement. I sincerely hope that more entrepreneurs in our generation follow Blake Mycoskie's (founder of TOMS) lead and start businesses that have social good as a priority, if not woven into their very business model, while still being profitable.

Now with the Gen Y Fund, started by the White House and the Young Entrepreneurs Council, the country is clearly encouraging the start of new businesses from young people with new ideas. It's difficult to think of a business that you could start that would have as much positive impact on the world as it does on your wallet, but I'm sure that there are many bright young Millennials out there that will do just that. Given the right idea, I might just be one of them.

**All views on this post (and on this entire blog) are my own and this post has not been sponsored, endorsed or is otherwise affiliated with TOMS or Blake Mycoskie.**

Millennium of War

2011-10-20T13:09:00.000-04:00

I actually wrote this post yesterday, but it seems so much more fitting at the news that Muammar el-Qaddafi has been killed.

The trouble with being so young is that it is hard to remember events from even a decade ago, because we were so young then.

As an example, life before 9/11. I was 14 when Al Qaeda terrorists attacked the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, and though I traveled a lot throughout my formative years, I now have trouble remembering what it was like to travel by plane without the extreme airport security measures and constant fear that terrorism could strike again.

Another example, one closer to my personal home (the Philippines) is the war against the Muslim rebel groups in the southern regions of the country. Today, I read that at least 25 people have been killed during fighting between Philippine special forces and the Moro-Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) .

[As a measure of how low this war has been waging in the jungles of the Mindanao (the Philippines’ southern region), the MILF acronym wasn’t yet popularly known for a more crude meaning when the fighting began.]

I think its dangerous when fighting becomes a norm. Be it in the Philippines, where there was a constant threat of foreign nationals being kidnapped even in the capital city, or in the U.S. when the death tolls in Iraq and Afghanistan are just a normal segment of the news. When children spend their whole lives knowing that violence is prevalent around them, we turn into young adults that accept these conflicts as another part of life.

There’s also the flip side, where being young is a benefit. As our generation takes on roles as full-fledged “adults”, we are able to provide fresh perspective, suggestions and even revolutions, because we do not want to accept the status quo - especially, if that is war.

I believe this is part of the equation that has President Obama urging troop withdrawal from Afghanistan. The president was elected on the grassroots efforts of young people around the country - many like me who probably can’t remember life too well before the war on terror, and who are fed up with tax dollars being sucked away year after year to maintain this war. Now, as re-election approached, the president knows he needs the support of his base and is acting accordingly.

It’s an idealistic girlish wish, but I wonder if there will ever be a generation that grows up without the looming shadow of war, even from a distance, it affects us all.

I run to be

2011-10-18T02:14:00.003-04:00

Stronger.

That's what I wrote on the entry form to the Nike Women's Marathon how many months ago. Fast forward to race date: this past Sunday, October 16, 2011.

Have I been hardcore training for the past few months? No.

Have I been to the gym more and run more in the past few months than I ever have in my life? Yes.

Up until the very last minute, I didn't really think I could handle it. I never wanted to tell anyone that I had a time goal (2:30) or that I felt like I had trained enough (I hadn't), but in the sea of the "20,000 women and a few good men" I decided that I would. I decided that if men and women, older, younger, heavier, lighter than I were in this 'til the finish, so was I.

If someone told me six months, a year, several years ago that I would somehow run an entire 13.1 miles of a half marathon voluntarily, I wouldn't have believed you. But I've done it, and though it was never on my bucket list, I'm able to cross that off.

In high school, whenever dance was too difficult, too tiring, too painful, I would silently remind myself that the body is always capable of more than the mind thinks it is. That phrase reverberated throughout yesterday's half-marathon. And despite cramps, killer uphills, aches and exhaustion, I refused to give up because I knew my body would do it if I kept pushing.

I suppose I ran to prove that I could - because I can. Because in a world of recession, protest, cancer, unemployment, earthquakes, tsunamis, you will always have control of your body.

I don't think I ran to be stronger. I don't think I ran to be anything other than a version of myself that knows that I can push my body to limits previously unreached. Perhaps that's too much to fit on a t-shirt.

I ran to be a better me.

{ NWM 10.16.11 - 13.1 miles - 2:26:44 }

Dear Steve Jobs

2011-10-06T12:25:00.004-04:00

I hope you know how much you’ve affected our world. The noise around the news of your passing hasn’t stopped from the moment it was announced. Shock and sadness can be found everywhere - your life’s work is one of the world’s greatest, most innovative, inspiring and creative companies.

And that’s just Apple. (I think most people forget that without you, there would have never been Pixar - I love Toy Story.)

I listened to your 2005 Stanford commencement speech on the bus ride home (on my iPhone) and almost cried as you spoke of death. Your message on morality was hard to listen to, especially with the news of your death.

It was that much more of a wake up call to stop living someone else’s life. To not settle. To do what you love. To follow your heart. To stay hungry and foolish. I will think of your calligraphy experience when I find the right way to display those words on a canvas and print them for my bedroom (and cubicle).

So many other, better writers have chronicled your life and how you have changed the world. As I read their tributes and eulogies, I am inspired and awed by your creative genius and sense of innovation. The world certainly needs more of that.

Thank you, Mr. Jobs, for representing innovation and creativity and imagination and optimism.

For inspiring an entire ecosystem of products (and jobs!) around Apple products (apps, games, carrying cases, etc.).

For making technology beautiful and accessible and giving life to the gorgeous MacBook Pro that I now type on.

Thank you for reviving the music industry with iTunes.

Thank you for keeping us connected.

You will be remembered.

21st Century Reading

2011-09-29T01:32:00.003-04:00

As much as I am a proponent of technological advances and progress, there's one thing that I just can't let go of: books.

Amazon released a new tablet and e-reader, the Kindle Fire, as well as a new e-reader, the Kindle Touch, today. As a huge supporter of reading, literacy and literature, I love what e-readers have done. They've made reading cool again and more than that, they've made thousands of books easily accessible to the thousands of people with e-readers.

So, why don't I own one?

Well, because I love books. It might be uncharacteristic of a Millennial and somewhat old-fashioned of me, but I love owning a bookshelf full of favorites. When I visit people's homes, I look at the books on their shelves and get to know a little bit more about them. And while a Kindle (or nook or iPad) can give you access to hundreds of books at the tip of a finger, you can't leaf through the pages nor smell the new (or old) paper smell nor feel the crispness of the pages.

Kindles (and other e-readers) are extremely handy for commuting though. They surround me on my bus rides to work or my Bart rides to friends. They are also not weighing down the bags of my fellow commuters and ripping their shoulders apart. This is where I waver. Much as I love my paperbacks (and occasional hardcovers), the weight in my purse is straining to say the least. And with Kindles now available for as less than $100, it gets ever so tempting.

I've got to wonder though. Are physical books nearing extinction? Will the next generation (post-Millennial) even know about the wonders of a bookshelf or losing yourself in a neighborhood bookstore or finding a new novel randomly wandering the shelves? And should we let technology take over completely? I don't think I could.

God, Money & Jay-Z

2011-09-26T22:35:00.000-04:00

Happy Monday! In an effort to post more regularly, I'm sharing some interesting articles that are either about or written for Millennials.

On religion: As someone who was raised strictly Catholic (and who read Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret as a child), I find this article from the Christian Science Monitor fascinating. The numbers also say that we're much less Christian than older generations (about 60 percent as opposed to 80)- this might be a nod towards the generation's diversity but the numbers also say that even though 2 out of 3 Millennials believe God exists, 1 in 5 have left the denomination of their childhood.

On finance: In the Business Insider, my friend and fellow Millennial suggests the "Best Money Books for Millennials" - her picks include Generation Earn: The Young Professional's Guide to Spending, Investing, and Giving Back as well as How To Win Friends and Influence People. Personally, to figure out my company's 401(k) and my own shopping and eating expenditures, I hang on to Suze Orman's The Money Book for the Young, Fabulous & Broke.

On culture: One of my favorite blogs, Good posted an article on How Jay-Z Inspired a Generation of Hustlers. I'd like to think that I'm part of that generation, though not specifically part of the demographic mentioned in the article ("Jaz-Z is to black male millennials what Oprah is to... eveyone else"). Without being too cheesy and quoting every favorite lyric, Jay-Z quite simply set the blueprint for this generation to follow. He hustled. Hard.

#TroyDavis

2011-09-21T20:43:00.000-04:00

Social media might not be the preferred choice of communication, but for my age group, it's probably the one where we get the most information. And why not? Online we have the power not just to reach our followers, but our followers' followers and their followers and so on. No wonder social media marketing is so great.

But more than just marketing, social media has been a powerful tool in social movements. Anyone with access to the internet, or even just the news, saw just how powerful Facebook and Twitter could be this past year with the Arab Spring.

In recent days and specifically today, social media's use for awareness and social justice has been evident in the case of Troy Davis, the black man sentenced to death for the alleged murder of a white off-duty police officer almost 20 years ago. I'm sorry (or not?) to say that I found out about the Troy Davis case through Twitter - as people I followed posted with his hashtag #TroyDavis and #TooMuchDoubt.

With Amnesty International and the NAACP on his side, not to mention zero physical evidence and seven of nine original witnesses recanting their testimony, Troy Davis gained support around the world (even @KimKardashian tweeted about #TroyDavis to her almost 10 million followers)

And today, September 21st, as the clock loomed in to 7:00 p.m. ET to his scheduled execution, thousands tuned in to the live stream at DemocracyNow. And then celebrated when the Supreme Court granted a repreive.

Personally? I attacked followers and friends on Facebook, Twitter and even g-chat to call the Supreme Court for a stay on the hearing - with all the information out there, it's clear that he isn't guilty beyond reasonable doubt and how can you put a man to death if you're not sure beyond a shadow of a doubt?

It says something about our generation, about the students of Morehouse, Spelman and Clark Atlanta that spontaneously bused themselves to the Georgia Death Row today, about the thousands of people outside the U.S. that paid so much attention to this case, about the thousands that tweeted, retweeted, posted on Facebook, signed the Amnesty International petition and cared.

It says something about technology and humanity and how they are interconnected.

At 11:08 p.m. ET, September 21, 2011 the State of Georgia executed Troy Davis. I cannot express the disappointment I feel in our justice system, but I am comforted at the idea that his struggle will continue.

On the flip side

2011-09-01T12:31:00.000-04:00

While my previous posts, and my general attitude, is that Millennials are awesome and surviving against the odds, there's also another side to the equation. What today's New York Times calls Generation Limbo: "college graduates who entered the job market after the economic downturn, have taken dead-end jobs while waiting to start their real careers. And waiting. And waiting."

These are the stories of the college students that graduated from great schools, who, if they had graduated at any other time, would have probably had good prospects to begin successful careers. In the meantime, they are bartenders, band-members, minimum-wage earners and some even on government assistance.

While the article highlights specific stories of Generation Limbo stories, the survey results from the Heldrich Center at Rutgers, demonstrate that this isn't commonplace: only 14 percent of those who graduated college between 2006 and 2010 are looking for full-time jobs, either because they are unemployed or have only part-time jobs.

Truth be told, I was in this position for the first four months after graduation.

It's easy to feel cheated, graduating in the midst of economic downturn, because otherwise things should have been fine for those who worked hard through college.

I argue that there are upsides. Taking the time to really figure out what you want to do, what you want your career path to look like, how to begin that career path and developing the skills or attaining the background knowledge needed to launch that career.

The hurdles to starting your career when few companies are hiring and tons of people are vying for the same position are great - but if you have the extra spare time, make sure you are using it well.

So... Millennials...?

2011-08-31T23:18:00.001-04:00

The tricky thing about blogging, is that it requires consistency and dedication. Clearly, I haven't shown either, with my last post being almost three weeks ago. However, I'm not letting up.

So, other than work and life, what have I been up to in the three weeks since I last posted on this blog? Well, I've been thinking a lot about the objective and direction that I'm going in. This blog is about being a Millennial in 2011. Specifically, it's about me, as a millennial and what I think makes my generation unique and special, why other Millennials should feel the same and why everyone else should care.

But let's face it, I'm not my entire generation. So really, who and what are these "Millennials" that I keep raving about?

Well, according to a Pew Research report from early 2010 "Millennials are the American teens and twenty-somethings who are making their passage into adulthood at the start of a new millennium." The report also discusses some main traits of the generation:

Confident

In spite the Great Recession getting in the way of Millennials starting their careers, we're more upbeat and optimistic about our economic futures than previous generations.

Connected

Facebook. Twitter. LinkedIn. While our generation can't take credit for creating social networking, we adopted the technology early on and have been active.
According to the latest survey from Pew Internet & American Life Project, "young adult women ages 18-29 are the power users of social networking; fully 89% of those who are online use the sites overall and 69% do so on an average day."

Open to change

Let's talk about change. Yes we can. That pretty much sums up the 2008 U.S. Presidential Election, doesn't it? Barack Obama mobilized a generation that no one else thought to target, but contrary to popular belief, young people are aware, interested and engaged in the world.

So, according to the research, those are the Millennials. Those are the statistics around my generation - the people that are driving the present and shaping the future.

Millennials > Recession

2011-08-09T02:46:00.001-04:00

Really, U.S. economy? Just when it was starting to look hopeful again (and by hopeful, I mean the economy was making a painfully slow upward climb), we head towards a double dip.

To be honest, my understanding of economics peaked in my IBH (International Baccalaureate Higher Level) Economics class in 2005. However, as part of the generation that saw our futures start to slip away when the Great Recession began in 2008, I am aware of the everyday impacts of a poor economy.

Cartoon by Ted Rall

My original plan to graduate college in 2009 changed when I realized that finding a job with the economy in the state that it was would be virtually impossible. The extra year of college (which I used to complete a second major and take part in a semester in DC program) meant that I graduated in 2010 when the market was slightly better, few companies were undergoing severe layoffs and some were even hiring. It also meant that the job market was saturated with college graduates from 2010 as well as 2009 and 2008 - we were all vying for the same entry-level positions.

With the news of this second dip in the market and the economy falling into recession yet again, I can't help but to be extremely thankful to be employed. I think one characteristic that I've mentioned in my original post about Millennials is that we're fiercely pursuing our futures. And considering what we've had to face in the early years of figuring out adulthood, without fierce determination and continuous pursuit, we would have no future.

I (Still) Heart Justin Timberlake

2011-08-04T01:57:00.001-04:00

Elvis. The Beatles. Cyndi Lauper. Michael Jackson. Every generation has their pop superstars; the musicians that sell out concert and win the hearts of every teen (and pre-teen) fan.

For me, and just about everyone else in my age group, those were the 90s superstars: girl (power!) groups, pop princesses and yes, boy bands - including *NYSNC and Justin Timberlake.

I watched "Friends With Benefits" this past weekend. I heard it was funny and I thought the concept was interesting, but really, I watched it for the gratuitous Justin Timberlake nudity, his adorable goofy personality and because the 14-year-old girl inside is still a head-over-heels fangirl for that particular pop superstar.

I was a Justin fan from the first time I saw his oh-so-cool dance moves in the Tearin' Up My Heart music video and soon abandoned my Backstreet Boys CD entirely to sing along to the No Strings Attached album. My first concert? *NYSNC at the Rose Bowl the day that they released their third album, Celebrity.

As I grew up, I didn't grow out of the fangirl entirely. As boy bands broke up and pop princesses found their way to rehab, I still cared about their careers - and Justin's especially. As his career matured to solo albums and SNL skits, I was always still a fan and find that many girls of my generation feel the same way.

Now that our generation has our own disposable income (instead of saving our allowance or borderline begging our parents for the newest CDs), some of the 90s pop superstars have even reunited and sold out stadiums to their former/current fans. Hence the success of the Spice Girls 2007-08 World Tour and the super boy band NKOTBSB.

Me? I'll always *heart* Justin Timberlake - and like many now-twenty-something women out there - we'll spend to see him on the big screen, especially in an adorable, mostly naked role in a rom-com.

Our Generation

2011-07-27T23:55:00.003-04:00

They call us the Millennials.

We are currently the twenty-somethings eagerly getting our start in the "real world", fiercely pursuing our futures and desperately trying to make our way in the world - all while passionately advocating our issues and keep up with ever evolving technology.

They say that we think we are entitled, but we are just ready to take on the next challenge. After all, our whole lives have been a series of challenges presented by the world around us.

We matured in parallel to technologies that we now cannot live with out. From typing in grade school to the advent of the internet in our pre-adolescent years and the explosion of Facebook once we reached college. New tech demanded that we learn to learn quickly.

We also learned that the world around us hasn't done so well for itself. Childhood naivete ended shortly after the Twin Towers fell on 9/11 and we permanently added the word 'terrorism' to our vocabulary. We have been told that our future, and our children's futures, are in jeopardy with the threat of global warming. And just as we started to plan our "real world" futures, Lehman Brothers went bankrupt and the entire financial system all but fell apart.

But, all the while we pursue passions.

As "green" became the advertising buzzword, celebrities took up causes and campaigns that mattered more than just make-up, and we found our own causes to stand up for. Many hit the polls in the grassroots efforts to elect the first African-American President of the United States of America. We support efforts to increase awareness of everything from the environment to reproductive rights to the AIDS epidemic.

In conversation with my peers, we awe one another with drive, passion and desire to make it in this world - while making it a better world.

Still, they say we think we are entitled. That we are so young but want so much. To them, I say, so what? We've learned to learn, to adapt, to adjust and to endure.

We're the next generation this planet has, and we know how great we're going to make it.