I am a millenial.
I can’t believe I just called myself that. The first time I came across this term was when I was reading through some literature in a graduate school class. Although it was rather taken as a cohort of a study on a type of employee in an organizational setting, on the surface, I thought I was part of it. But the simplest definition was “a generation that happens to be born from the 1980s until 2000.” It was believed that people born within these years are less supervised, ambitious, self-directed, and self-controlled. Though this may seem true, it is still a concept abstracted from mere theory born out of direct observation or immediate judgment based on preceding notions layered by biases and experiences.
Consequently, the millenial phase is rather labeled by Human Development and Psychology as the Post-Adolescence Stage, but more popularly known as that which includes the “quarter-life crisis.” This just came about because of the easy talks in social media and the proliferation of the idea because of experience and self-acknowledgement. What is interesting about this is that this stage is rather more highlighted during this generation we call the Y generation. This developmental stage has just emerged past the fundamental stages of human development. This phenomenon has rendered experts curious about so many things on many levels.
But recently, having experienced just yet another great local, theater performance set as a play, I have come to embrace the concept more than just a psychological and developmental phase.
No Filter 2.0, produced by the Sandbox Collective, has captured many millenial’s heart, including mine. It was self-deprecating, self-confessing, raw, real, and self-affirming. It was spot-on, at least to my experience. The struggles, the dilemmas, the many personal issues, the challenges, and the way of living were set in monologues written by a collective of just spectacular writers. It was initially staged a couple of months ago. What was thought to be just a trial-play turned out to be a hit among many, especially the millenials.
Reviews after reviews have come out, and it is simply praised on the level of rawness and experiential appeal. But here, I also bring my reflection to the table. At the onset, as a context, many believe that millenials are self-absorbed, entitled, abominating, lazy, shallow, delusional, and unstable. Well, I must say this may be true. But this should be set in environmental context, with the existence of technology and the social media. Everything revolves around technology. But there is more to understand out of this precept. And with that, with my affirmed millenial self, I share 5 realizations from No Filter:
5. The struggles are real.
Just as how No Filter did it with so much flare and pizzazz, there was the affirmation that our struggles do exist. That no matter how shallow it may seem, there is that reality that what we are going through is just part of living. These things happen because they are definitely part of the reality of living. There is acceptance, and with acceptance, there is continuity in living.
4. I am not alone in aloneness.
It is a part of human experience—feeling that “crisis” of finding, seeking, floating, fleeting, and just walking around. But this is not exclusive just to the self. No Filter makes you realize that. And that just make things a little better. By hearing the audience laugh, giggle, and react in the most hilarious way with you make everything feel okay; that one is not alone in this phase of seeking.
3. That being a millenial is as normal as any human development stage.
Just as the baby-boomers were put in question when the hippie era of “high” moments and “peace-out” events came in advent, millenials are reduced to being shallow and lazy, technology-dependent, and delusional. But this is rather social in context; more interactional in the process. This stage is just part of the human development. No Filter made philosophical segues in the latter part, which I delved into with settling thoughts. It’s a matter of not thinking too much about what this millenial thing is. It’s just as simple as accepting it because it’s just normal living.
2. There is always a tomorrow to face. A beginning to work on.
For the reflective existentialist, pragmatist, and realist millenial, this may seem dark and languid. But there is tomorrow. A light at the end of the tunnel. A life waiting ahead. A process of becoming that is both great and amazing.
We will change, and change is inevitable. But that is what makes this world interesting.
1. The world isn’t that scary.
It’s up to us to live and relive. Everything is going to be okay.
I am a millennial. There is just nothing wrong with that. It may be trivial because it is unknown to most, but I am certain that going through this phase is going through life itself. Let everything just unfold, and let every millennial just live that life. Everything will just be fine.
Catch No Filter 2.0 this October at the Power Mac Center Spotlight, Circuit Lane, Makati every Saturday and Sunday. Check out Ticketworld.com for tickets and schedules.
No Filter 2.0
The Sandbox Collective
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