Boomerang Kids

“Hi Mom, I’m Home!”

Dear Damon Casarez,

Millenials catch a lot of flack. We’re told that we lack focus. We’re overly heuristic and lazy. We think success is just going to fall in our laps and if it did, we wouldn’t recognize it because nothing is good enough for us. We’re special (so we were told growing up). As a result we end up living with our parents and suffering the social consequences. Well 1 in 5 of us do according to the NYT Magazine article.

I lived with my parents for a solid 6 months after college. I chose to look for the right job (which turned out to be the wrong job) rather than make the rent while underemployed. It was comfortable and only slightly embarrassing. Plus refrigerator stayed full (still does).

As we redefine what it means to be a young adult in America, I have to ask myself whether the Great Recession is to blame or if we have drastically different morals than previous generations. Maybe the concept of independence from our parents isn’t as necessary because we have the ability craft our own digital identity. Someone’s place of residence does not define them as strictly as it once did. Facebook friend’s don’t know you live with your parents, they just see pictures of you drinking at a bar or dressed up for a wedding.

Overall, I don’t see “boomeranging” back to our parents house after college as such a bad thing. I think we should be thankful to have parents who love us enough to welcome us home, even after they payed for college (if you’re lucky). Plus, we’re going to live longer than any generation ever has, so we’re just taking a few extra years to figure things out.

At least I hope so.