Falling Under The Millennial Stereotype
Two over-sized suitcases are packed full of my belongings, and I am ready to move across the world. This Texas girl is flying off to live in the suburbs of London. Indefinitely. I will be continuing my teaching career at a British school, teaching "maths."
Three phrases I have spoken on repeat since accepting my new job are as follows:
"This is the craziest thing I have ever done." (Obviously.)
"I'll be back." (Not in a Schwarzenegger accent, but you get the idea.)
"I'm such a Millennial." (Just the truth.)
Backstory: In 2016, I quit my corporate job to pursue a teaching career—a change that had been long overdue. After finally answering the call I had ignored for years, I found that I absolutely loved being able to use my God-given gifts and having a true purpose at work—something that was lacking at my previous job, which had transformed me into a complete sloth trudging into work each morning. Fast forward two years, and those feelings of making useful contributions at work, daily, still exist. I love what I do.
However, in my second year of teaching, I started to feel too comfortable at work. Of course there is always room for improvement, especially for a young teacher. But because I had semi-recently gone through my big career change, I allowed myself to coast into my second year of teaching without thinking much about what was next. While I still felt that I had purpose at work, I had lost sight of working toward any sort of goal.
Once I had found my life calling, I was set for life, right? I somehow bought into the idea that I had everything figured out at the ripe old age of 24.
Believe it or not, a New Year’s Resolution helped me shift out of that state of mind. At the beginning of 2018, I felt the need to actively change the way I pursued my life goals. I wanted to be able to speak openly about my goals, and then actually attain those goals. In order to make this happen, I needed to reevaluate what my goals actually were. Why am I here? What am I passionate about? What is my full potential?
I felt awesome about my new mindset of striving toward a fresh goal, but I was terrified of where that goal might actually take me. You see, I am a Millennial. As fellow Millennials understand, we are stereotyped as easily becoming bored. We are always looking for the next best option, whether that means a new relationship, job, place to live, or all of the above. So when I came across a teaching job abroad that I was qualified for, I was thrilled, but also worried about a million other things, including falling under the Millennial stereotype.
The other night, I was on the phone with two of my closest friends simultaneously (nineties babies all the way). After revealing the news of my big move, the topic of Millennial stereotypes came up. I sheepishly quoted my above phrase “I’m such a Millennial,” to which one of my friends encouragingly responded, “…a healthy Millennial.”
I have job hopped every two years since graduating college. But none of my job change decisions have ever been made without serious discernment. What my friend meant by “healthy Millennial” describes the way I have taken time to carefully reevaluate my life on a regular basis. I believe in the importance of continuously searching for self-improvement and consistently accepting opportunities to learn something new.
This means that we will need to leave our comfort zone once we no longer fit that space. To some, this could mean staying at the same job for years and working up through the ranks. To others, maybe it takes a few career changes and big moves. There is no cookie cutter path to finding both happiness and success.
After quitting two jobs and moving halfway across the world to start my third job, my story may seem a little rough around the edges. I see it as my personal journey toward becoming the best version of myself, achieving my lifelong dreams, and living life with zero regrets. Please excuse me while I go *live my best life* like a true Millennial.
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Hi friends,
Announcement (sounds so formal, doesn’t it?):
It's the end of an era.
I’ve decided that, after nearly 8 years of telling stories of navigating life, this season of Windrose is drawing to a close.