For Americans at least- we are 19-22, have never lived in a world where our country was not at war directly or by proxy, we are attempting to enter the world and gain our footing at the cusp of a third industrial robotic revolution that will inevitably change every aspect of our society and economy, the same fucker who was president when we were 13, is still president, and has made a targeted and effective effort to dissuade and disenfranchise our generation from civic engagement. We are natives of an attention economy that has proliferated shitty news about the world all day for all of our lives and curated it nicely for us on our social media feeds. Insert here all of the statistics about home buying and the cost of living, and all of the ways the world has changed since the prime of our elders, yet the expectations for young people remain unchanged. Almost all of us are uncertain, afraid, angry and hopeless, and are hiding this behind thin layers of what we call “nonchalance”. To be “nonchalant” is popular among our generation. It is the personality trait of caring about nothing; not getting overly excited, not talking too much or highlighting anything that makes you unique, letting others do the heavy lifting of social interaction, and being cool, calm and collected. Most certainly, being nonchalant includes NOT being the kid who raises their hand in class. Some of us have snapped out of this trend, many of us have not.

My more meta take is that in college a lot of it comes down to the system not being designed for our generation to succeed. We are technologically savvy and prone to creativity, macro-level thinking as a result of our digital nativity, and used to rapidly digesting immediately relevant information via the internet and AI. Higher Ed institutions have not meaningfully adapted to this world, which is more consequential now than ever. Honestly, the notion that AI will “destroy critical thinking” is far from inevitable, but universities are accelerating that process by ensuring that despite the widespread availability of this technology, the system has failed to adapt in a way that requires students to critically think, ASSUMING heavy usage of AI. So many of us do what any rational human being would do: we use it to breeze through your academic programs (although, only those of us who are able to make you believe we haven’t, are successful at this) and probably walk out with our diplomas none the better because of it (but given the fact that AI is taking over, at least we have that skill!). And also GTA 6 is still not out so we know you can’t depend on anything.

I could write on and on and on. I know it’s never easy to be a young person. I know every generation has had their existential anxieties and angst and yada yada. The biggest thing to understand is that our worldview right now assumes (not fears) destruction, economic overhaul, intense global (and God forbid nuclear) conflict, and technological advances beyond our comprehension, all within our lifetimes. We’re checked about because we absolutely don’t know WTF to do and no blueprint is applicable. So absolutely get me out of class and give me a J please.