I worked in a fudge shop on Mackinac Island for three summers, which is about three months out of the year. One of those years, I decided to stay the whole season from May until October. You could imagine I got to see a lot of people, old and young.

That year was hectic, but there was one interaction that’s stuck with me. I was helping an older lady who was accompanied by a group of friends, what I assumed was part of their tour group. It was September or October since that’s when all the tour groups came to the island.

When I was finishing up her order, she said to me, “When you’re my age, you’re going to need help as well,” or something of that nature. I would have been fine with it and brushed it off as someone giving me advice. However, the next thing she did was turn to her group of friends and tell them what she just told me, as if she was so happy about schooling the young fudge shop employee.

Another incident happened recently. I was checking out at a store and the cashier was finishing up her conversation with one of the other customers. She finished up the conversation with “It’s the young people, all they want is paper plates,” or something to that effect. I was the next customer in line, and I felt extremely awkward, to say the least.

As a young person, I haven’t felt very respected when it comes to interacting with older generations. Whether it’s in the grocery store or in my everyday job. There’s always something someone in an older generation thinks they know better than me and, in most cases, it’s true — I don’t know everything and I will willingly take the advice.

However, when people start to blame my generation and generations under me for their lack of something, that’s when I get a little irritated. It’s always the Millennials’ fault, or Generation Z is making a mockery of something, such as plates.

I, for one, don’t have any paper plates in my house and I know I’m going to need help when I’m older.

Look at who’s running our country. They say the age to run for president is 35 years old, but we’ve had two presidents who are well into their 70s. Most of Congress is older as well. How are they supposed to represent what the younger generations want when they were younger a very long time ago?

Even at clubs where they say the youth are the most important part of growing said club, they refuse to embrace new ideas or different innovations because it’s not what they always did. It makes me feel like they don’t really mean what they say, and I feel disrespected.

They always say respect your elders, but it goes the other way too. It doesn’t take much to respect the younger generations and their ideas. Something as simple as asking how a service worker is doing before you order or not thinking you always have the right of way.

Don’t always think it’s the younger generations’ fault, because sometimes it’s not, and it’s the younger generations who are going to carry this country and many others into the future.

The children are our future, but so are Millenials and the older half of Generation Z who are working hard just to make a living. If we want them to care about building a good future for other generations to thrive on, we have to start respecting them and their ideas. We might be surprised with what they come up with.

Alyssa Ochss is the page designer at The Alpena News. She graduated from Oakland University and loves pop culture and all things nerd. You can reach her at aochss@thealpenanews.com.