well, i've certainly been out of the loop. here i am, finally living with my own generation, and i didn't even know it. damn, all i had to do was look around the room, i mean the classrooms where i audit classes, listening to lectures over and over, hoping to learn by osmosis, this the fifth time with the history of photography, and with three different teachers. and now i've stumbled upon a welcome truth.
on the same day, drinking my coffee at the bookstore cafe, i browsed two technical magazines: howdesign and the british version of wired. lo and behold, articles in both explained the same issue, the habits of the millenials. jeez, i must admit, i'd never heard the term. as described, this the generation born between 1978 and 1999, exactly the kids i've been sitting beside, thinking all the time i understood them. as usual, i entertained a fallacy.
evidently, these very students the group of which they speak, described as multi-taskers, those who believe what they read online, more devoted to their private life than work (they've caught up with the french), seeing work as a series of experiences and not a career, hopping from train-car to train car, not afraid of change, and liking to work in teams. lord, where have i been. most of this obvious when i think about it, which i obviously hadn't.
that last paragraph describes myself. you could throw in their 'feeling of entitlement' and 'readiness to leap onto the latest, greatest thing.' previous generations advised 'not to try to hard to realate' and 'understand the social consciousness and commitment of these budding souls.' not rebels against their parents in the old sense, they like their parents' taste in music and movies. take the latest oscar winner the artist, a silent film. now that's going back some!
yes, they may very well drop out. why wait til you graduate to change the world? they're inspired by the TEDD.COM talks, like me, and though i'm certainly not a 'futuremaker', i can understand the thrill of being one. hey, folks, the world may be in better hands than we think. i certainly hope so, since i'll be soon skipping school permanently.
if i may coin a phrase: life is one long improvisation. for example, last evening i took my camera to the park. on the way i noticed knot-holes in fences, which have always fascinated me. i snapped a few pics and found a common thread when i arrived back at my computer. here's eve and the serpent: http://www.pbase.com/wwp/eve
http://hbr.org/2010/05/mentoring-millennials/ar/1
