I hold the door for people. I am the type who keeps it open, unintentionally causing the individual I’m holding it for to awkwardly run inside. Most say, “Thank you.”

But there are the few who don’t acknowledge I’m holding it for them — it goes unappreciated. While I mumble under my breath something containing, “ungrateful expletive” and carry on, I don’t walk around with a grudge against my peers. The majority of individuals thank me, outweighing those who don’t.

Overall, I don’t believe our generation lacks gratitude.

That is why I was surprised when I came across the John Templeton Foundation’s survey of more than 2,000 adults revealing that 18-24-year-olds are less inclined to express gratitude than any other adult age group. The foundation looks to discover answers to the “big questions” of human purpose.

The survey states millennials are more grateful for their education and modern technology than they are for their freedom and right to vote.

Indeed, our political conscience has been shaped by an economic recession that has dismantled many of our job prospects. Sure, a bad taste has been left on our tongues. But we still appreciate our fundamental rights.

We know what gratitude is. Regardless of our backgrounds and upbringings, we express appreciation for our families, friends, education and experiences because they ultimately made us who we are.

Though these traditional ideals remain, growing up during a digital revolution has expanded our generation’s reasons to be grateful.

Past generations were not defined so heavily by the technology that has shaped and simplified so much of our lives across social and professional platforms.

But gratitude is, of course, subjective to an individual—what one person is grateful for, another might not be, purely based on different lifestyles and upbringings.

I did agree with one aspect of the survey, which suggests it takes a significant event to motivate our generation to express gratitude. Until this past Winter Break, I was unaware of how true this could be.

I spent my last year of high school undervaluing my hometown of Newtown, Conn., and its small-town charm. I longed to be in a new place. It wasn’t until the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School on Dec. 14 that I wanted to chastise my high school self for my ingratitude. I felt immense guilt for even wanting to escape from Newtown, my home.

As I watched news crews swarm our town center, in addition to feeling a wave of helplessness, I felt an immense feeling of hope. Knowing that not only locals but also individuals nationwide and across the world were backing my little corner of the universe was an indescribable feeling.

And for the first time in several years, I was extremely grateful to call Newtown home.

Tragic events should not be the only device to spark gratitude for millennials, though. We must now carry on the task of expressing gratitude for the efforts of the notable generations before us, while also appreciating what we hold in the present.

We are now responsible for appreciating the ability to vote, our civil rights and the ability for females to both be employed and raise a family, while also valuing our technology and modern advancements.

Ultimately, we are a generation of individuals still trying to find ourselves, figure out who we are and where our true allegiances lie. Once we accomplish this, our “thank yous” will speak volumes about our gratitude.

Anna Hodge is a freshman magazine journalism major. Her column appears weekly. She can be reached at ahodge@syr.edu and followed on Twitter at @annabhodge.

Published on March 28, 2013 at 1:07 am