I learned at a very young age that life is a lot more difficult than we expect it to be, than what we are taught. For years we dread going to class and look forward to the day that we can be considered working adults. We’re taught or seem to believe that after we graduate from college everything will make sense, that things will be better. But for me, that’s not exactly what happened. Definitely not. Instead, I found myself questioning everything about my life. What I was doing. What I wanted.
So here I am today, 21 years old and lost. I don’t know a lot of things. But I do know that I like to talk, and that I like to write and I like to bitch about things that upset me (I call this being opinionated). I’ve only been in the workforce for a short time but let me just say that in that short time, I have witnessed some pretty terrible things. I’ve dealt with unethical management, poor leaders, age and gender discrimination, as well as a lovely case of sexual harassment. I’ve messed up a lot, made lots of mistakes. But I’m really thankful for them, all of them. I’ve learned a lot.
So to any HR people that read this and think that I’m just some annoying brat with lots of free time on her hands, read what I have to say before you decide that I’m clueless. Pay attention to the things that I have witnessed and the insight I have on the future of the workforce before you dismiss my thoughts due to the fact that I have not yet reached my 30th birthday. In case you haven’t noticed, there are some pretty incompetent people running even HR teams that are perhaps more than three times my age.
My wish is that this blog serves as a forum for young GenYers, many that are either working for the first time or soon to be transitioning from college to working life. For those of you just entering the workforce, I hope you can learn something from my past experiences and that you can also help me communicate with those in leadership positions today. It’s my mission to let them know what we want and what we need from our work environment.
How do we want our futures to be? What makes us happy about going to work? What pisses us off? That’s what this is for.
I’m just a young girl trying to find my way through life, and my career is a huge part of that. I know that I’m not alone in this. So for all of you that are experiencing what-the- fuck-do-I-want-to-do-with-my-life/what-the-hell-did-I-get-myself-into moments, I hope this helps. Thank you so much for taking the time to read this, and welcome to Gen Y Girl.
– Kayla
Found your blog today and powered through all of your posts in an hour. Thanks for everything you’ve written- it’s nice to know that there’s other girls (and guys) out there in the same confusing spot post graduation. Good luck on the hunt for happiness, I know I’ll need it!
It wont happen overnight. You have passion and you know you won’t settle and that sets you apart from your colleagues. You intimidate them and they will try to hold you back. Do not let them! You’ll look back and realize all the BS were just stepping stones to get you to “that place” you are aiming for. But I do not have to tell you this, you already know it.