“Millennials” are greedy, selfish and entitled. That's what I hear all the time. That we don't work, have no work ethic and expect everything to be handed to us. That we all are too focused on social media to properly view the world and if we aren't focused on social media, we are insecure and need the approval of others. It sure seems like people are speaking a lot of negative over the lives of the generation that will be in their shoes some days.

That's what we hear and that is true for some but not all. There's a whole group of us who try to fight that stereotype and work hard at it. We see social media as a tool to network and discover the parts of the world we can't afford to go to because we have student loans for the degrees we worked our butts off getting. We respect those in authority over us because we know we would not be where we are without those who paved the way for us. We go to church, we serve at the church, and we join life groups. We have real people in our lives as well as a community on social media, because we know both types are beneficial. We fight stereotypes that have been placed on us that say we are a lost generation. We see those in our generation causing trouble, but know that we don't have to give into the low expectations anyone places on us because we have high expectations for ourselves.

We are hard on ourselves and try to be gentle on others because we know the battle everyone is facing in life is hard and that there are mountains and valleys. We have role models like Mother Teresa, Jesus, MLK Jr., and other world-changing and culture-changing individuals. We try to live within our means and give to those less fortunate. We go on trips to bring clean water and food or serve in our local community because we know that if we are blessed, it is only because of God, so we need to bless those who need a hand up. We stand with those who are hurting and lend them a hand. We love those around us and try to be accepting to those who believe differently in life because there is enough hate in the world, and we will not add to it. We have many causes and fight for what we believe in. We workout some days and eat donuts the next, and we know that someday we will have wished we ate more vegetables today. We study politics to make informed decisions and care about the environment that we were given to steward.

We can have significant others, or choose not to, because we know our lives are not defined by our relationship status, but by who we are. Either way, we are walking in the plan God has for us at this time. Some have babies, some have dogs or cats, some neither, but we celebrate each stage each one of us has as if it is our own and use social media to share the highs and lows. We pray for those who struggle and rejoice with those who rejoice.

We are not all a lost generation, because we choose to be different and challenge the stereotypes in front of us. At least we try to.

I don't say all of this for me, I say it because it's been on my mind and heart to say. We do not have to be what the world says we are, because each generation had select people say the youths were too young and were screwing things up. In some cases they were right and some they were wrong. We need to not let this be a generation that falls through the cracks, and instead stand up and say "I will not let myself be a stereotype. I will stand up and live out my calling as best I can with the help and encouragement of those around me. I will believe in myself."

So as a twenty something navigating this life, I will mess up and I will fall down, but I'll stand back up. I may take a selfie when I get back up and caption it with a bible verse, but what matters is I get back up. What matter is that I keep moving forward loving those who need love and believing that I can, and will, make a difference in the world, even if it just in my small sphere of influence. We all matter and we all have callings and dreams, we just need to fight the stereotypes and move forward.