We recently got an intern at work, and I was assigned to mentor her.
Great, I thought. I'll impart my wisdom on the next
generation, right? Wrong. Instead I'm traumatized.
I mean, I knew there would come a day when I felt old, but no one warned
me that it would happen while I was in my 20’s.
Here’s how I know I’m no longer part of the ‘younger generation.’
1. My intern was born in
2000 – as in, the millennium! While she was preparing to come to earth, I was
listening to some of the year’s No.1’s like, “Oops…I Did it Again!” and “It’s
Gonna Be Me.” She couldn’t believe that countless young men bleached their hair
to look like Justin Timberlake.
2.
The intern asked me how I contacted people before there were cell phones. I
told her I just called their house phone. She sighed, then laughed at me.
3.
I asked the intern how her weekend was. She said, “It was great, but I didn’t
get to sleep until 11 on Saturday.” I said, ‘Me too! It was so hard to stay up
until then!”
She looked embarrassed
for me, then explained that she didn’t go to bed until 11 a.m. on Saturday, having stayed out all of Friday night. Even the
thought of that makes me sleepy.
4.
We started talking about music, and she mentioned a new song that she loves.
Out of curiosity, I opened the iTunes store to look at the top 10 singles. I
didn’t know a single artist.
5. We
started talking about social media, and I asked her about the point of
Snapchat. After all, why take a picture if it’s going to delete itself? “It’s
so much fun!” she insisted. “My friends and I use it to take ugly double-chin
selfies and send them to each other.” Huh, why?
6. The intern asked me
if I had fun plans this evening. I said, “Of course. I get to finish up some
laundry, then take out the garbage (bins in the UK).” For the next five
minutes, I talked to her about how much I love garbage day, because it’s like a
fresh start every week. She gave me the kind of smile that suggests great pity.
I have a feeling this will only continue to happen.
