March 9, 2022 

These days, keeping yourself together is a full time job. It’s hard enough as it is to balance getting good grades and making time for a social life, nevermind trying to please your parents and friends, maintain the proper aesthetic on Instagram (one that’s both trendy and authentic), and keep up with self-care. At times, that’s enough to drive you a little crazy, but the stress is further exacerbated by adults telling you how it was back in “their day.” There’s only so many times that we can tell our parents and grandparents that we live in a different age than they did, before the conversation becomes repetitive, boring, and ultimately irrelevant at this point in our lives.  

These days, our generation prioritizes productivity. Whether it’s working or taking time for ourselves, we tend to put appearing productive over everything else. We wake up, work out, make a healthy breakfast (because god forbid a broke college student makes Eggo waffles), go to class for who knows how many hours a day, do our work for those same classes, see our friends, make dinner hoping we didn’t forget to eat lunch, and wrap up the day with even more homework. It’s tiring just writing it all down. I forgot to throw showering in there too, but sometimes there’s just not enough time for basic hygiene. Now, I have my own opinions about the overarching Girlboss mentality that has taken over social media, but I can’t deny that it represents a defining characteristic of our generation and our need for constant accomplishment. We love to create, we love to produce, we love to see the results of our own efforts and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. We love to be on the go, explore places we have never been, and even push the boundaries of social norms that we sometimes feel restricted to. Gen Z rebels against the idea that there is only one ‘right’ way to do things: the only way girls can be pretty is with long hair, tattoos are taboo and you will never get a job if you have one (especially as a woman), women should not wear men’s clothing because it doesn’t accentuate our figures the best, men should not paint their nails because it’s “feminine”. We have taken each of these constructs and done a complete 360 degree reversal of them, we are done with being given limited options to express ourselves.

These days, we demand choices. We hate being put in boxes, we hate being defined as just one thing. We are constantly growing, everchanging. Humans are malleable and adaptive, and I think for the first time in a long time there is finally a new generation of kids who are pushing against the long standing walls society has built. We reject being put in a box and tied with a bow; we renounce the idea that we are restricted to one option, we subscribe to multiple ideologies and religions. I don’t think I’ve ever had so many friends believe in so many different things. It’s beautiful to find safety in a myriad of beliefs as opposed to following one doctrine alone. 

While Gen Z has some flaws, we acknowledge those flaws and use them to make us better. Yes, we care about appearances, we push ourselves to the brink of exhaustion daily, we have all probably experienced some form of burn-out by our 20s, but it’s in the name of progress. We push ourselves so that we can become people we are proud of, we would rather experience the pain of being overworked -and the growth that comes with it- than conform to practices or ideologies that we don’t believe in. Our end goal is to become better than who we used to be, and better than previous generations expect us to be. I am proud to be a part of Generation Z. I am proud that I can’t be defined by one word, I am proud to find a safe haven in multiple facets of different religions, I am proud of my work ethic. I am honored to be a part of a generation that is defined by our constant cultivation of independent thoughts. With Gen Z running the show, your identity and goals are fluid. This generation empowers us to envision ourselves and our success through a lens of limitless opportunity. These days, we are not limited by antiquated mantras.

Gen Z is made of us, designed by us, and meant for all of us, and I can't wait to see where we go.