We, the millennials, still care

MANILA, Philippines - Narcissistic. Sheltered. Reckless. These are just some of the spiteful words they throw at us. Our generation — flawed but perfectly Instagrammed — has been getting a lot of flak from those who came before us. 

Sometimes it feels like being a millennial is both a blessing and a curse. What with our volatile nature that can go from eager to whatever in a day, we’ve earned a rather unfavorable reputation. Indeed, we’re quite a complicated set — hard to figure out and even harder to cage. But are they totally right about us? 

Well, with the Internet and its new-age literature spewing out a plethora of expositions with click-bait headlines that run the gamut from “Just leave your job and travel the world” to “10 things 20-somethings would rather do than get stuck in a 9-to-5,” it’s no surprise that the older generations fear for our future. After all, we are destined to take over the world’s economies, but many of us can only see as far as next weekend’s booze-filled beach trip.

Who we are

Born somewhere between 1980 and the early 2000s, we, the millennials, are typecast as impressionable individuals who notoriously live in the now. Lo and behold, this carefree lifestyle has a trendy name: YOLO (You only live once), a shiny emblem that most of us proudly parade around in, like it’s some pair of fresh Dunk Lows. But let’s admit it, as much as we want to prove our beloved baby boomers wrong, our generation has some owning up — and growing up — to do. 

A lot of us easily fall for what’s hip and what gives us instant gratification, and this blurs our vision. Our strong reverence to living for the moment weakens our ability to plan for the long-term and desensitizes us to the perils of YOLO life. One significant thing that seems to have already lost its practical appeal to us is the idea of future-proofing — like saving up or investing in sound insurance policies. We have also been labeled as digital adaptors who are obsessed with self-branding — vain and too self-absorbed to care. 

Our elders might think we’re having it easy, but here’s some #realtalk: We’re not. Truth is, our perfectly-curated social media feeds don’t even mirror a speck of our daily struggles; in fact, these sometimes even add to the pressure. There are so many competing voices around us but we often still end up getting lost in translation. There’s too much information in front us that we end up more puzzled and skeptical than ever. And popular media has been pushing role models that have nothing really more to offer than a pretty face. 

Worth Watching

There’s currently one television character, though, that’s worth mentioning and telling about. Her name’s Ranee, a perky and charming Sun Life Advisor on Single/Single — which is Cinema One and The Philippine STAR’s breakthrough rom-com series that tackles the life of millennials while reintegrating a profound appreciation of financial literacy back into the consciousness of the YOLO crowd. Played by acclaimed indie actress Ana Luna, Ranee’s disposition in life is the anti-thesis of everything that’s utterly wrong with millennials. 

Ranee — a hardworking breadwinner whose fervent wish is to become a top financial advisor and meet PioloPascual in person — is a perfect mix of fun and professional. It’s so interesting how her scenes, like the episode where she met with a prospective client in a coffee shop to guide him down the path to, in her own words, “a brighter life,” can be so endearing. I guess because it is so refreshing to see a young lady in her ‘20s who is genuinely in love with her career and has a strong grasp of reality — a rare moment on local television that a millennial isn’t rashly reduced into a self-entitled whiny brat whose issues don’t go far beyond boys and drunken Friday nights. Even Ranee’s one-liners have this subtle tendency (“I love my life! Nabigyankonanamanngdireksyonangisa panglife!”) to push the audience into introspection. (What motivates me? How can I use my position to positively influence my peers? Am I just one of those ungrateful brats?) 

Dreams come true

Another quality of Ranee that paints a better picture of a millennial is her remarkable professionalism. She may be one of the show’s sources of comic relief, but when Ranee puts on her Sun Life Advisor hat, she gracefully transforms from super jolly girl friend into a no-nonsense lady who knows her thing by heart; she snaps into the type of girl whom you’d trust your life plans with — confident yet still charismatic. (And yes, in an upcoming episode, Ranee will indeed fulfill one of her dreams as a Sun Life Advisor.)

Often, people highlight our inability to separate business from pleasure. And yes, we have to admit, that is not purely an accusation. But just like Ranee, if we really strive to defy the stereotypes that come with our age, then the rest of the world will see that, despite all the YOLO-ness, we are actually a bunch of “kids” that care. And yes, we really do, even though sometimes we take “life is a playground” quite too literally.