Happy September!  Labor Day has come and gone.  The days are getting a little shorter, a little cooler and school is back in session.  Which means it is time once again to be reminded of old I am getting, It is time for the annual “Mindset List” that notes events that have shaped the incoming freshman class, the class of 2023.  The list has a new home this year with Marist College and the full list can be found at   https://www.marist.edu/mindset-list. Most of the incoming freshman this year were born in 2001 which right there makes me feel old, these kids were not even born in the same millennium that I was.  I took a tour through the list and here are my twenty favorite items.

Enjoy!

• Like Pearl Harbor for their grandparents, and the Kennedy assassination for their parents, 9/11 is an historical event. 
• Thumb, jump, and USB flash drives have always pushed floppy disks further into history.
• The primary use of a phone has always been to take pictures.
• The Tech Big Four–Apple, Facebook, Amazon and Google — are to them what the Big Three automakers were to their grandparents.
• They have outlived iTunes.
• The Mars Odyssey has always been checking out the water supply for their future visits to Mars.
• Snapchat has become their social media app of choice, thus relieving them of the dilemma of whether or not to friend Mom.    
• PayPal has always been an online option for purchasers.
• Segways have always been trying to revolutionize the way people move. 
• Apple iPods have always been nostalgic.
• Quarterback Troy Aikman has always called the plays live from the press booth.
• Except for when he celebrated Jeopardy’s 35th anniversary, Alex Trebek has never had a mustache.
• They have grown up with Big Data and ubiquitous algorithms that know what they want before they do.
• Most of them will rent, not buy, their textbooks. 
• Their grandparents’ classic comics have evolved into graphic novels.
• Pittsburgh’s Steelers and Pirates have never played at Three Rivers Stadium.
• Blackboards have never been dumb.
• Cal Ripken, Jr., has always been retired.
• Teams have always been engaged in an Amazing Race around the world.  
• Coke and Pepsi have always been competing in the sports hydration science marketplace.

THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK

“Children must be taught how to think, not what to think.” ~ Margaret Mead