The Millennial Woman
Accept who you are now……
Have you ever stopped to consider the fact that we’re constantly chasing the next big milestone? First it starts off with, I just want a successful loving relationship, then it’s okay, “I’m so excited, we’re getting engaged,” fast forward to – the wedding day cannot come soon enough, skip to the growing pains of marriage, then everyone wants to know when you and your dreamed about spouse will have those perfect children, the cycle honestly never ends. Don’t get me wrong, there’s absolutely NOTHING wrong with desiring any of these things. These are all extremely beautiful moments and every person has a right to desire and pray for these things to happen, but my question for you and myself is…what am I doing with myself right now?
As a young married woman, I almost sank into this place of sadness due to the fact that my life just isn’t where I want it to be. I’ve been married 4 years now, people won’t let up about when we’re going to have kids, I’m in between considering changing careers, I’m not the same tiny size I was 4 years ago, and I was sinking further and further into discontentment with myself. So, I was listening to a podcast a few days ago, and the message stuck to me, so what resonated was even if everything isn’t exactly what I want It to be in this very exact moment, that does not mean I still cannot put my best foot forward right now and continue to work towards the things that I aspire and hope to attain in the future. Above all else, I need to change my mindset to be thankful and position myself to trust that God is working even if I don’t see how He’s working things together in this very moment.
I’ve come to the conclusion that we definitely go through seasons in our lives. As millennials, it is so easy to get caught up, watching everyone else’s highlight reels on social media, and before you know it we’re comparing ourselves to a picture, a super small portion of someone else’s life. We watch videos other people are posting, a video not lasting longer than 1 minute and we’re so quick to judge our lives because it may not look like what’s happening in someone else’s life, but we can’t have that mindset. We can’t put God on a time frame just because we feel like we’re missing out or we feel like God is blessing others and not us – which is far from the truth, by the way. As a believer, we need to encourage ourselves. As lame and typical as It sounds, we have to spend a little less time watching and secretly comparing our lives to others, and put that same time towards discovering new things about ourselves, reading amazing books, serving and volunteering in different types of places that need help, trying new restaurants, networking at events - we need to challenge ourselves to put our phones down and step OUT and explore and really live this life. If you’re unhappy about anything happening in your life, start with yourself, look inward! What are you doing that is stirring up your creativity? What are you doing that is impacting your soul? What are you doing to cultivate your interests? I get it, this is the generation of influencers, and I see no shame in that, but if that’s NOT your interest or what you find joy in, it is time to start thinking about what does interest you and brings you contentment! If you don’t know where to start, take a few minutes out of your day and write down things that you enjoy doing. Start somewhere, but we have to take charge of today. The rest of our lives will work itself out. Above all else, trust God! Find those reassuring scriptures in the Bible, write them on your mirror, save them in the notes’ section on your phone, and whenever you feel yourself spiraling into that mode of discontentment, read those scriptures and remind yourself that God is working everything out for the good of those that love Him and are called according to His plan and purpose. We’re in the 3rd month of 2020, and I urge us all to start doing something great with our “right now” because I am confident the beautiful plans we are hoping for in the future will somehow come together when we are least expecting it. Talk soon. ~Adekemi
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What does it mean to be a Millennial AND a woman in this new decade?
Millennials are identified as born between 1982 and 2004. It is reported that Millennials are described as the digital generation and are highly educated, tech savvy, self-confident....oh and of course - love spending money. Though this is a generalization, I’m not sure this sums us up completely. That description does not fully capture the essence of who we are, especially from a social consciousness perspective.
I believe as a generation we are more emotionally in tuned than we are given credit for. I believe many of us desire to make a significant and positive contribution to our generation and society in general. Though we are not our parents, I would even venture to say some of us reflect their sentiment regarding; life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
Moreover, as a millennial woman I believe in fairness and justice for all. In addition, as a woman of color I feel honored to speak on relevant topics of our time.
Please join the conversation and voice your opinions or even concerns regarding all things millennial. Leave a comment below and let’s start a conversation and impact our multi-generational culture.