Generation Y? We prefer Generation Why Not?

Millennial hopes and fears — Yes, we get it, our lives are going to be tough. We're worse off than our parents, the planet is doomed, and that's before we've even found somewhere to crash or a temporary job. But instead of asking why, isn't it time we asked ourselves why not? Welcome to millennial hopes and fears week at Huck.

Our generation is screwed and running scared. Or so the narrative goes. We’ve been dealt a dirty hand, and are reminded of our predicament day in day out by politicians who don’t listen, weird headlines and even weirder ‘facts’, and ‘experts’ that claim to speak on our behalf. But it’s not just our wallets that are hurting.

We’ve been spewed out of a system that tried to tell us success was a luxury that could be bought. Between sky-high debt, unaffordable rent and jobs that suck the meaning out of life, finding true fulfilment can feel like a dream when you’re too busy trying to get by. And here’s the best bit, fresh off the press: we’re self-entitled, lazy-ass ‘millennials’.

Throw in the impending doom of climate change, the frightening fact that our medicines may become obsolete and the threat of World War Three – and you soon get the picture. Things look pretty dire. But is it really all doom and gloom?

Because get this: where our baby-boomer predecessors bought into a capitalist vision, we’ve begun to find another way. We don’t just want to work; we want to work in order to make a difference. We don’t just want to live; we want a sense of ownership over our own lives. And while that may feel like a Sisyphean task, especially in a system that seems to ignore us, our sense of agency can be reclaimed.

More and more young people are refusing to climb the ladder or prescribe to a rank-and-file life. They’re finding ways to overcome their fears – through collaboration, not hierarchy; through creativity, not complacency; and by giving a damn about everything they do, as opposed to not giving a shit. We’re not asking why, we’re asking why the fuck not?

This week Huck will look to people who have faced these fears and have come out on top: entrepreneurs who are starting businesses while also doing good; activists who are pushing towards our postcapitalist future; doers who have dropped out of the system and reclaimed their sense of agency. And we’ll ask the questions that leave others shaking in their boots – from Donald Trump to government snooping, what should we really be afraid of?

Keep track of our Millennial Hopes and Fears online special.

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