Millennials Are The Most Resilient Generation in History

Unless you’ve been living under a rock (no judgment sounds peaceful), you’ve heard the news: Trump slapped diabolical tariffs on imports, with even steeper taxes on goods from China, Japan, and Europe and everyone’s 401(k) is about to look like it’s been run over by a truck. Even his docile man pets are upset, and they didn’t even get mad at him for being a felon or for that embarrassing group chat about bombing yemen!! The market is spiraling, and financial analysts are predicting a recession. It’s exhausting. It’s predictable. But I’ve noticed something…

If you look at millennial tik tok, our group chats, and conversations in coffee shops, you won’t find panic. You’ll find shrugs and eye rolls. And a lot of memes. Because for a generation that came of age during 9/11, graduated into the 2008 financial crisis, and rebuilt careers during a pandemic, economic disaster just simply doesn’t feel like breaking news anymore.

This unshakable calm isn’t indifference, it’s hard-won resilience. Millennials have spent their entire adult lives navigating systems that seem designed to fail them. We took out student loans because we were told education was the path to stability, only to enter the worst job market in decades.

Let me paint you a picture of peak Millennial trauma: It's 2012. You have a master’s degree, $60K in student loans, and you’re getting politely worded rejection emails from unpaid internships that demand "3-5 years of experience." This wasn’t absurd, it was just the reality.

Instead of moving into adulthood with a sense of purpose, we entered the workforce like ghosts, drifting from one no-paying or low-paying gig to another, trying to carve out some semblance of stability in a world that seemed built to keep us off balance. We watched homeownership (you know the cornerstone of the American dream) first dangled as a possibility, then yanked away by a 2008 housing crash, then made nearly impossible by soaring prices and stagnant wages.

And then came covid like a cruel cosmic joke, which would be the second major recession of our lives before we even turned 40. Unemployment rates for Millennials peaked at 14.5% in April 2020, as jobs disappeared overnight and economic stability once again seemed like a distant dream. Many of us had just started to build up experience and job security, only to lose it all in one instant. Yet, there wasn’t that much panic in the way we responded. We all got on zoom, turned out studio apartments into offices and learned how to make our own sourdough.

And this isn’t just anecdotal, there’s data to back up this generational grit. Despite carrying unprecedented levels of student debt and facing skyrocketing costs of living, Millennials remain surprisingly optimistic. Polls reveal that even though we’ve been through all these challenges, our generation stands out for its optimism. This isn’t naive hope. We are the boldest, most progressive generation because we have an unwavering belief for a better future.

And maybe Millennials are able to hold onto a vision of a positive future because for a brief moment we got to taste it. As I’ve written about before, the early 2010s felt like a tiny window into a positive future. Social media was just starting to feel exciting instead of exhausting. Politicians were actually using it for good?? Millennials were being celebrated, not mocked. Our creativity and energy were seen as assets, and it seemed like we might finally catch a break. As I’ve said a million times (and will keep saying), 2014 was the best year in human history and you can fight me on it. We thought the hustle was finally going to be worth it and that we could have jobs that made the world better. It felt glorious, like maybe, just maybe, we were going to be okay. We went clubbing in our pencil skirts, wore black eyeliner on our lower lids, and believed grown-ups when they said it gets better. Donald Trump was but a washed-up reality show host, not temu hitler. Being woke was aspirational, not yet a slur.

And despite Millennials being the most progressive and resilient generation in history, we don’t get called resilient, we get called cringe. We’re mocked for our unbridled optimism, like it’s some kind of defect instead of an indelible strength. It’s almost funny, the way our hope will still get twisted into something shameful, as if surviving everything we’ve survived with our sense of humor intact is somehow pathetic. But here’s the thing: optimism is the most logical rebellion. If the world keeps trying to convince you that nothing will ever change, what could be more radical than insisting it might?

So yeah, maybe we do cling to hope a little too hard. Maybe we’re stubborn about it, refusing to let the grind make us bitter. But that’s what makes us who we are. We should be loved for it, not mocked. We’re not just resilient; we’re resilient and still daring to believe in something better. That’s not cringe, it’s revolutionary. And if you’re still here, still laughing, still hoping despite everything? You’re doing it right.

Before you go, make sure to mark your calendar for Tuesday at 11ET/2PT because I’ll be going live with the inimitable fearless journalist David Farrier!! We will be talking freely about everything going on in the world and trying not to get deported for it. Make sure you subscribe so you get the alert and can join the fun!! x