MILLENNIUM ESSAY CONTEST ENTRY; LOOKING FORWARD: TEEN THOUGHTS

As a teen-ager of the 1900s, I find that I'm looking forward to the next millennium rather than looking back at the last one. One of the best things about the new millennium for me is being able to say I'm from both the 20th and the 21st centuries. It makes me sound somewhat older, which I might not like when I am older, but I guess I can't have it both ways. Also, many new inventions and cures lie ahead, most of them planned to be found during my lifetime. Science seems to be the thing of the new millennium. Although I'm not looking forward to the growing number of math and science-minded people, I can see how the push for math and science could help with more practical things. I, having more of a creative mind than a science mind, am beginning to see how the few creative people could work with the scientists to make some wonderful new inventions.

What strikes me as interesting is that people tend to assume that the year 2000 is going to be so different. Yes, I agree that the new millennium will be different, but consider how much different now would seem to a person from the last century. I think that now, as well as the future, is a great time to live, whether we call it "the year 2000," "Y2K" or just simply "next year."