NER: special snowflakes with unicorns

LDubHawksFan · September 2013

I saw this last night being shared on Facebook and not only thought it was hilarious and true, but also feel like its a daily discussion on here. My favorite part might be the rainbow unicorn as their expectations! In fact, do one of you ladies work at the Huff. post?!

Enjoy:
http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/3930620

*sorry if this has already been shared on CC or SB*

NYCMercedes · September 2013

Thank you. So cute and true.

southernbelle0915 · September 2013

This is awesome!

delujm0 · September 2013

i saw that yeserday ad the first thing i thought of was this board. :-)

MrsMack10612 · September 2013

That is probably the best articulated explanation of what's wrong in this country than I've heard in a long time.

hoffse · September 2013

I saw that also and thought it was completely spot-on. My favorite part is all the gen-Y'ers in the comments section bashing the article because it "doesn't understand" the real problems we are having - like the fact that boomers don't want to retire exactly when we want them to. I'm like, "yeah... see how you aren't reacting to criticism well?"

I know so many people approaching 30 or 40 who are trying to figure out "what to do with their lives to fulfill their dreams." Seriously - you're living life RIGHT NOW. This is it. Find a way to embrace it, or be unhappy like Lucy. It's never bad to think about the future, but I feel like my generation needs a bad dose of reality.

delujm0 · September 2013

this is definitely what's wrong with this country. i'm a fringe gen-y myself (born in 1982) and even i can see how ridiculous it is. at my last job, the managers had training where we were all told that when we give tasks to our inferiors, we had to "bring them in and have a discussion with them about why this task was assigned to them instead of someone else, and how this task will assist in their career projection."

Let me tell you how hard it was to get an intern to make copies around that place. Sigh. News Flash: entry level positions are often thankless, and you will be assigned to menial tasks until such time as management believes you are ready for something else. You can WORK HARD and get ready for more fulfilling tasks, or you can sit around, refusing to do anything outside of the normal scope of your activities, and be in an entry level position for your whole life. Your choice.

i guess i "don't understand" either. i do know i will be telling my kids that they are not better than anyone else, but if they work really hard at something, they can get better at it than someone else some day. "you can be anything you want to be" doesn't really work unless "...if you work really hard to achieve it" is tacked onto the end of that sentence.

MrsMack10612 · September 2013

I see it in my niece, she's about to turn 18 and she believes that the world owes her. We had a discussion one time about how scared she was of the responsibility of trying to finish high school, get a job and look at colleges.

I think she had excellent insight that the reason she's having such a hard time is she grew up in the everybody wins era; nobody expected much of them when they were younger and now that "real life" is looming, they are pushing the kids harder and they aren't prepared for it.

It certainly doesn't change the sense of entitlement, but it absolutely make sense.

allispain · September 2013

I saw this yesterday too, but wasn't able to get on here to share it.

As a college professor (who also happens to be Gen Y) I deal with this every day. Yes, I admit that at times it has been hard for me to adjust my expectations to my reality - but part of that is also that I always thought that having a PhD would have more of an impact on my career path (and salary level). Part of it is also that I grew up in a family that was upper middle class, so being at the lower end of the middle class spectrum has been an adjustment.

What really concerns me about a lot of Gen Y is the entitlement complex many of them present. I get students all the time that think they deserve an A at the end of the semester because they came to class. They ignore the fact that they didn't always do well on assignments (or even do assignments...) and assume that they will get an A because "everyone gets a trophy." Sadly, the idea of working hard for what you want in life seems to be disappearing.

MrsMack10612 · September 2013

allispain said:

I saw this yesterday too, but wasn't able to get on here to share it.

As a college professor (who also happens to be Gen Y) I deal with this every day. Yes, I admit that at times it has been hard for me to adjust my expectations to my reality - but part of that is also that I always thought that having a PhD would have more of an impact on my career path (and salary level). Part of it is also that I grew up in a family that was upper middle class, so being at the lower end of the middle class spectrum has been an adjustment.

What really concerns me about a lot of Gen Y is the entitlement complex many of them present. I get students all the time that think they deserve an A at the end of the semester because they came to class. They ignore the fact that they didn't always do well on assignments (or even do assignments...) and assume that they will get an A because "everyone gets a trophy." Sadly, the idea of working hard for what you want in life seems to be disappearing.

I have felt for a long time that the majority of Americans are becoming "ok" with mastering mediocrity.

Xstatic3333 · September 2013

I totally thought of TK when I saw it as well! Great article. I'm a gen-yer and was probably guilty of a lot of that right after college. That quickly changed when my now H went through a period of unemployment and we saw how hard it is. We're in a tough but "fulfilling" field, but now we both have reliable jobs, work our butts off, and are grateful every day to be employed.

I have a lot of friends who won't apply to any job that isn't a perfect fit for what they want and are still unemployed months after grad school ended. It's hard to succeed these days, you've got to stay humble, positive, and hard working. (I know many hard workers go through periods of unemployment too, so not knocking anyone going through that.)

cowgirl8238 · September 2013

I am so glad that my parents raised me to be a better, smarter person than most of my Gen Y counterparts. And I am not saying that I am better than anyone else, but just that they always gave me a sense of reality. They always said you can do it if you work hard enough to get it. I am so tired of people who are my age who make us hard working Gen Yers sound like lazy complainers. I am very happy in my life knowing that I have a steady job with a good company and will be marrying a man who feels the same way!

TheJessi · September 2013

cowgirl8238 said:

I am so glad that my parents raised me to be a better, smarter person than most of my Gen Y counterparts. And I am not saying that I am better than anyone else, but just that they always gave me a sense of reality. They always said you can do it if you work hard enough to get it. I am so tired of people who are my age who make us hard working Gen Yers sound like lazy complainers. I am very happy in my life knowing that I have a steady job with a good company and will be marrying a man who feels the same way!

To quote the article: "Even right now, the GYPSYs reading this are thinking, "Good point... but I actually am one of the few special ones" -- and this is the problem."

Aray82 · September 2013

MrsMack10612 said:

allispain said:

I saw this yesterday too, but wasn't able to get on here to share it.

As a college professor (who also happens to be Gen Y) I deal with this every day. Yes, I admit that at times it has been hard for me to adjust my expectations to my reality - but part of that is also that I always thought that having a PhD would have more of an impact on my career path (and salary level). Part of it is also that I grew up in a family that was upper middle class, so being at the lower end of the middle class spectrum has been an adjustment.

What really concerns me about a lot of Gen Y is the entitlement complex many of them present. I get students all the time that think they deserve an A at the end of the semester because they came to class. They ignore the fact that they didn't always do well on assignments (or even do assignments...) and assume that they will get an A because "everyone gets a trophy." Sadly, the idea of working hard for what you want in life seems to be disappearing.
I have felt for a long time that the majority of Americans are becoming "ok" with mastering mediocrity.
MrsMack, this was definitely something I saw when teaching high school. It was really sad to see how thrilled parents were when their perfectly capable, bright 18 year olds were barely scraping by with C-minuses, not getting detentions, or having any other behavioral issues. Yes, there were students with developmental or cognitive issues for whom C-level work was a real achievement made from genuine effort, but there were definitely others just putting forth the bare minimum--and it was difficult for me to motivate them when their parents would buy them cars just for not royally screwing up.

aurorajanette · September 2013

I love this. As an employer of a bunch of Gen Yer's (which I am also), I often find myself rolling my eyes at their "But I deserve it because my mom think's I'm special" attitude about EVERYTHING!

I was going to be out of the office for one day and asked one of my employees to cover a few of my responsibilities. I even brought in another person for a part day so that she would be able to get it all done. She said yes, and then came back to me the next day and said, "My mom said that I deserve to make your salary for the day I fill in for you." I seriously couldn't help but laugh.

I constantly am hearing things like, "I need to get that" or "I deserve it" or "What do you mean I need to accomplish something before I get my raise?" It makes me gag. I also get the interns still in college who are constantly like, "I am going to graduate and get a director job! I deserve it!"... with barely any experience doing anything. They get my reality check lecture.

I'm not saying that I don't do any of these things. I'm sure I do, I'm a Gen Y'er after all. I just can never imagine telling my boss that she needs to give me something extra because I'm so special.

Aray82 · September 2013

MrsMack10612 said:

allispain said:

I saw this yesterday too, but wasn't able to get on here to share it.

As a college professor (who also happens to be Gen Y) I deal with this every day. Yes, I admit that at times it has been hard for me to adjust my expectations to my reality - but part of that is also that I always thought that having a PhD would have more of an impact on my career path (and salary level). Part of it is also that I grew up in a family that was upper middle class, so being at the lower end of the middle class spectrum has been an adjustment.

What really concerns me about a lot of Gen Y is the entitlement complex many of them present. I get students all the time that think they deserve an A at the end of the semester because they came to class. They ignore the fact that they didn't always do well on assignments (or even do assignments...) and assume that they will get an A because "everyone gets a trophy." Sadly, the idea of working hard for what you want in life seems to be disappearing.
I have felt for a long time that the majority of Americans are becoming "ok" with mastering mediocrity.

I don't see your original post, allispain, but I wanted to give a shout-out since I'm in the exact same situation! Well, almost--I do teach courses as part of my assistantship, but I'm about one chapter and a boatload of revisions away from my PhD. Definitely hear you on adjusting expectations.

While I do have some special unicorn students every semester, I teach at a university that serves a large non-traditional population of "real" grown-ups with kids and full-time jobs...and those students are much less likely to craft excuses for not submitting assignments or attending class. I have some awesome 18-year-olds as well, but the non-trad students in particular have really helped to stave off my cynicism on days when things aren't going so well.

Speaking of which, I should probably get back to grading/fielding emails from special snowflakes :P

arrippa · September 2013

TheJessi said:

cowgirl8238 said:

I am so glad that my parents raised me to be a better, smarter person than most of my Gen Y counterparts. And I am not saying that I am better than anyone else, but just that they always gave me a sense of reality. They always said you can do it if you work hard enough to get it. I am so tired of people who are my age who make us hard working Gen Yers sound like lazy complainers. I am very happy in my life knowing that I have a steady job with a good company and will be marrying a man who feels the same way!
To quote the article: "Even right now, the GYPSYs reading this are thinking, "Good point... but I actually am one of the few special ones" -- and this is the problem."

Since I am not a Gen Yer, I am super special and better than everyone. I will be over there with my flannel wearing unicorn with the rest of the Gen Xers. I remember when the articles were all about what lazy stoners we were. I am getting old!

MrsMack10612 · September 2013

aurorajanette said:

I love this. As an employer of a bunch of Gen Yer's (which I am also), I often find myself rolling my eyes at their "But I deserve it because my mom think's I'm special" attitude about EVERYTHING!

I was going to be out of the office for one day and asked one of my employees to cover a few of my responsibilities. I even brought in another person for a part day so that she would be able to get it all done. She said yes, and then came back to me the next day and said, "My mom said that I deserve to make your salary for the day I fill in for you." I seriously couldn't help but laugh.

I constantly am hearing things like, "I need to get that" or "I deserve it" or "What do you mean I need to accomplish something before I get my raise?" It makes me gag. I also get the interns still in college who are constantly like, "I am going to graduate and get a director job! I deserve it!"... with barely any experience doing anything. They get my reality check lecture.

I'm not saying that I don't do any of these things. I'm sure I do, I'm a Gen Y'er after all. I just can never imagine telling my boss that she needs to give me something extra because I'm so special.

I'm sorry, what? I can't even imagine thinking that, let alone voicing it to my boss.

aurorajanette · September 2013

MrsMack10612 said:

aurorajanette said:

I love this. As an employer of a bunch of Gen Yer's (which I am also), I often find myself rolling my eyes at their "But I deserve it because my mom think's I'm special" attitude about EVERYTHING!

I was going to be out of the office for one day and asked one of my employees to cover a few of my responsibilities. I even brought in another person for a part day so that she would be able to get it all done. She said yes, and then came back to me the next day and said, "My mom said that I deserve to make your salary for the day I fill in for you." I seriously couldn't help but laugh.

I constantly am hearing things like, "I need to get that" or "I deserve it" or "What do you mean I need to accomplish something before I get my raise?" It makes me gag. I also get the interns still in college who are constantly like, "I am going to graduate and get a director job! I deserve it!"... with barely any experience doing anything. They get my reality check lecture.

I'm not saying that I don't do any of these things. I'm sure I do, I'm a Gen Y'er after all. I just can never imagine telling my boss that she needs to give me something extra because I'm so special.

I'm sorry, what? I can't even imagine thinking that, let alone voicing it to my boss.

I know! Me neither! I would be happy that my boss thought highly enough of me to fill in for her and call it a day. That's why I was so shocked by it.

MrsMack10612 · September 2013

@aurorajanette - for me it also has to do with the fact that her mom even figured into the equation.

ETA - Discussion, not the equation.

allispain · September 2013

Aray82 said:

MrsMack10612 said:

allispain said:

I saw this yesterday too, but wasn't able to get on here to share it.

As a college professor (who also happens to be Gen Y) I deal with this every day. Yes, I admit that at times it has been hard for me to adjust my expectations to my reality - but part of that is also that I always thought that having a PhD would have more of an impact on my career path (and salary level). Part of it is also that I grew up in a family that was upper middle class, so being at the lower end of the middle class spectrum has been an adjustment.

What really concerns me about a lot of Gen Y is the entitlement complex many of them present. I get students all the time that think they deserve an A at the end of the semester because they came to class. They ignore the fact that they didn't always do well on assignments (or even do assignments...) and assume that they will get an A because "everyone gets a trophy." Sadly, the idea of working hard for what you want in life seems to be disappearing.
I have felt for a long time that the majority of Americans are becoming "ok" with mastering mediocrity.

I don't see your original post, allispain, but I wanted to give a shout-out since I'm in the exact same situation! Well, almost--I do teach courses as part of my assistantship, but I'm about one chapter and a boatload of revisions away from my PhD. Definitely hear you on adjusting expectations.
While I do have some special unicorn students every semester, I teach at a university that serves a large non-traditional population of "real" grown-ups with kids and full-time jobs...and those students are much less likely to craft excuses for not submitting assignments or attending class. I have some awesome 18-year-olds as well, but the non-trad students in particular have really helped to stave off my cynicism on days when things aren't going so well.
Speaking of which, I should probably get back to grading/fielding emails from special snowflakes :P

Congrats on being so close to finishing up! I just defended in May, so I'm still in recovery mode :-)

I agree that having some "non-traditional" students in the mix can really help alleviate this issue in the classroom. I have also had some wonderfully motivated students who are straight out of high school in my classes. Sadly, I tend to remember the ones that constantly complain, just due to sheer levels of frustration. It's good to be reminded that the other ones are there too, though!

loves2shop4shoes · September 2013

As a Gen Yer, I can fully admit this is true.

And it took 7 months of unemployment for me to realize what an asshole I was being about career expectations.

It was a lesson worth learning though.

NER: special snowflakes with unicorns

Re: NER: special snowflakes with unicorns

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