Time with millennials

I opened the newspaper recently to yet another letter griping about how spoiled and entitled today’s young people are. I’ve become convinced that those who complain the most about members of the younger generation don’t spend meaningful time around them.

Just last week in my community, I stood on holy ground as a group of grief-stricken young people gathered to remember an exceptional peer of theirs whose life had ended tragically. Most of these young people had just graduated from high school and have been busy planning dorm rooms, cleaning out their childhood bedrooms, and packing for college.

But that day, they stopped to remember a friend they will have to leave behind. For many of them, this was their first exceptional loss — one that was especially cruel.

The young man’s friends pulled together this beautiful tribute to him in a short period of time — basically in a day.

I teach college freshmen and, every semester, I encounter 18-year-olds who are putting themselves through school, caring for other family members, or already raising a child. Some of them have experienced things in their short lives that I can’t imagine even at 45. They inspire me every day.

Today’s young people are bright and optimistic. They are wickedly funny and make me laugh like no one else can. They are sincere. They love genuinely and grieve deeply.

Please stop with the hand-wringing. If our future is in this generation’s hands, we will be fine. And blessed beyond measure. DEANA NALL Bryant