The other day, I heard a statement from one of my fellow students at college:

"I don't know why you work so hard in school. My C's are going to get the same degree as your 4.0."

First off, I 100% disagree with that statement.

Is the paper degree that we will receive the same? Yes. Is the reputation and the opportunity to get a job the same? No. People look at grades for when you graduate from school. Your professors are not going to write you letters of recommendation.

Oh, and good luck getting into any graduate schools!

What really made me upset about this statement was the fact that hard work was being shamed. It was almost as if it was even being dismissed. I only see this in our generation. For other people who are older, the hard work that is displayed in attaining a high GPA is praised and encouraged. But, from people who are in the same situation as us, it is not encouraged. It is made fun of. I will never understand this.

For those of us that work hard for our grades, the last thing that is needed is for that work to be discredited by our own peers. At this age we are supposed to support each other and I see too much of us bringing each other down. If someone puts their emphasis on school, great! Congratulate them, push them to do better. This mindset of not working hard and doing the bare minimum is doing nothing but holding yourself back. We cannot expect to play hard nonstop and do no work to achieve this.

Millennials as a whole already receive enough negative opinions from people of other generations. With this mindset of hard work not being a goal, it only fuels that fire. If we can stick together and continue to support each other in what we do, we can continue to change the world.

But that needs to start by not degrading hard work.