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OPINIONS
Appleton, Wisconsin December 2016 Vol. XXII
Issue III Page 4
Readers, I’m certain you’ve
heard of the extravagant and
derogatory claims regarding our
generation. “Millennials these
days are so lazy, they don’t have
jobs, they don’t have money,
they don’t do anything.” Or
maybe, “Go to college. Get a
house. Move out already! May-
be you millennials could do that
if you all had motivation.”
In my opinion, these exclama-
tions are utterly ridiculous, and
here’s why: millennials do not
embody the characteristics that
society has pinned to them.
Teenagers and young adults
are pushed by societal expecta-
tions to pursue career choices
that, in today’s economy, are not
enough to make a living. It is im-
mensely difficult for people to
financially succeed when mon-
etary barriers—such as student
loans, apartment fees, insurance
and even food—hinder prosper-
ity. When some people say that
millennials are lazy, I think to
myself, “Where are they finding
these underachieving individu-
als? Every young adult I know
seems to be going to college,
working many hours a night,
scrambling to finish their home-
work, and having difficulties af-
fording basic necessities.”
Part of the reason this stereo-
type exists is because of theways
millennials are changing the cur-
rent workplace. The “traditional
workplace” appears altered as
the income of new workers
leads to new rules, dress codes,
and then assignments. With the
introduction of the Internet, as-
signments are more easily com-
pleted and less work is required
to accomplish certain tasks. This
allows for more free time after
completing an assignment that
was previously carried out with-
out the assistance of the Internet.
This increase in available time
appears to support the stereotype
of millennials’ laziness.
Similarly, this millennial ste-
reotype perpetuates as a result of
the extent to which the economy
has changed since our parents
entered the work field as young
adults. We are currently earning
about 20 percent less, propor-
tionally, than the generation of
baby-boomers, as we are simul-
taneously drowning in our own
debt.
In some ways, these com-
ments continue to develop as a
way to forcefully attempt to hide
the last generation’s economic
failures. Since the recessions of
1982 and 2008, the ability to find
a decent job has decreased and so
has our ability to make a living
on our own.
After examining this, what are
we left to do?
The answer is: an astound-
ing nothing. We must currently
work, pay off our debt, and
contribute to society. We will
maximize our opportunities for
success in this fashion, and once
we do, we will show older gen-
erations the potential that all mil-
lennials possess.
Procrastination is prevalent and should be eliminated
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Statement
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noct.com are the student-run news
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nated public forum for free and
responsible expression of views.
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welcome diversity of scope, depth
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community.
Appleton North High School
5000 N. Ballard Road
Appleton, WI 54913
Phone: (920) 832-4300
Mr. Ramponi, staff advisor,
at: ramponiaaron@aasd
.k12.wi.us.
Editorial Staff
Senior Editor-In-Chief
Nora Ptacek
Junior Editor-In-Chief
Jake Zajkowski
Managing Editor
Kate Bennett
News Editor
Ally Price
Opinions Editor
Maeve Salm
Features Editor
Trinity Olson
Centerspread Editor
Salma Abdel-Azim
Culture Editor
Maddy Schilling
Sports Editor
Maddie Clark
Photography Editor
Olivia Molter
Copy Editor
Fatima Ali
Advertising/Social Media
Rachel Sina
Graphics Editor
Henry Ptacek
Online Editor
Kate Bennett
Investigative Editor
Erik Bakken
Advisor
Mr. Ramponi
Contributors
Nolan Arnold
Salma Abdel-Azim
Fatima Ali
Yasmeen Ashour
Erik Bakken
Kate Bennett
Maddie Clark
Kyle Hoffenbecker
Annessa Ihde
Sophie Mariano
Trinity Olson
Ally Price
Henry Ptacek
Nora Ptacek
Maeve Salm
Maddy Schilling
Maryia Todorova
Carl Zuleger
By Fatima Ali
Appeals of
procrastination do
not outweigh its
detriments
While most people are bliss-
fully asleep on this chilly, fall
night, I happen to be awake at
midnight, so that I can finally
turn in a Noctiluca article that
was due two weeks ago. I sup-
pose I could’ve written this arti-
cle last week, when I actually had
no debate tournament to travel
to, but instead, I read five books,
cleaned my closet, shopped for
flannel shirts, and baked a cake. I
did everything, except write this
Noctiluca article.
I’m pretty sure I’m not the
only one who procrastinates reg-
ularly; I have yet to meet some-
one who doesn’t. But the ques-
tion is, what is procrastination,
and why do we do it?
According to the Washington
Post, procrastination is a strong
force, that keeps people from
completing important tasks in
their life. In severe cases, it can
cause people to perform poorly
at school or work. However, it
is unclear as to why people suc-
cumb to putting off items that
could potentially be done today
and saving them until tomorrow.
Many people tend to put off tasks
that bring anxiety or fear. After
that, in order to calm themselves,
they decide to perform another
activity that temporarily diverts
their attention. Unfortunately,
sooner or later, their unaccom-
plished task comes back to haunt
them, and before they know it,
they have so much on their plate
that it gets stressful just thinking
about what needs to get finished
before midnight.
As a person who is constant-
ly bombarded with millions
of tasks throughout the year, I
often want to forget about ev-
erything and instead curl up in
a ball and take a nap. However
as I’ve progressed throughout
high school, I’ve gradually real-
ized how harmful it is to develop
the habit of procrastination. The
more AP classes and extracur-
riculars I’ve participated in, the
more I’ve realized how harm-
ful this habit can be, eventually
increasing to the point where it
hinders me from truly perform-
ing to the maximum of my abili-
ties. Sure, maybe I can write a
lab report an hour before it’s
due, and sure maybe I might get
anAon that report, but did I truly
gain something fromwriting this
lab? Or did I just rush through
everything, just to finish the lab,
but not to actually retain any
concepts that were meant to be
discovered from this lab?Maybe
just one lab may not be so sig-
nificant, but procrastination is
almost like a black hole, mean-
ing that once you start putting off
tasks, you can’t easily stop your-
self, and promise that this won’t
happen ever again. Pretty soon,
this will become a regular habit,
and the concept of “dividing dif-
ficult work into several bite-size
pieces” does not exist in day-to-
day work. Scenarios like this are
detrimental to students, as they
may create many conceptual
gaps in subjects which eventu-
ally makes learning harder sub-
jects more difficult and tedious.
But procrastination doesn’t
only happen in the school or
work fields. It can also hap-
pen during social situations. For
example, when trying to buy
a wonderful present for your
friend’s seventeenth birthday,
it is ideal to order the present
well in advance, so that it ar-
rives in time for the special day.
But what if you kept putting off
the order? Eventually it gets to
a point where you try ordering
it the week before, only to dis-
cover that it’s out of stock. Now
what will you give? Not only are
you filled with embarrassment
because your present is late, but
you also go through an insane
amount of stress, while trying
to find a backup plan. That’s not
fun, is it?
Now that we’ve all realized
how harmful procrastination is,
it’s time to think about how we
can alleviate the tendency to pro-
crastinate in our lives. For start-
ers, it’s nice to utilize a planner,
so that you can write everything
down, preferably in a prioritized
manner. Next, it’s nice to always
remind yourself over and over
again about what are the pos-
sible problems that could arise, if
you keep putting off a task. And
lastly, it’s always nice to reward
yourself after getting a task done
so you can clearly remember the
glorious feeling of staying on top
of things, and not panicking over
something that was supposed to
be turned in two weeks ago. Al-
though procrastination is a harm-
ful habit, it can easily be cured,
as long as we take the time to
acknowledge the problem, and
then find ways to avoid this an-
noying habit.
Even with insurmountable homework, many students find it dif-
ficult to motivate themselves and avoid procrastination.
Photo
illustration by Maeve Salm
Millennial stereotypes are misinformed and must dissipate
By Maryia Todorova
“I’ve gradually
realized how harmful it
is to develop the habit
of procrastination.”
Students completing homework in the library in their spare time.
Photo by Maeve Salm
Many millenials
unfairly experience
social backlash