The American school system is flawed. There, I said it. And yes, it’s a pretty subjective statement and I welcome your arguments. However, I am not afraid to touch on all of the things I’ve found wrong with being a student in the information age. I’m a millennial. I grew up with a computer screen in front of my face. I knew how to ‘fluently’ type by the age of 10. I am a product of social media-craving adolescence and I am ashamed to admit it. But here I am thinking through my fingertips on this far too easily accessible laptop in my university’s library and I can’t help but feel that it’s all not entirely my fault. Being a millennial, that is.

You see, in school we were taught to be computer-literate and encouraged to be up-to-date on technology as best we can. We were taught that the world is getting smaller thanks to the internet and that there are endless opportunities out there for us to grab ahold of. Our heads were inflated with infinite dreams and possibilities that would soon lead us to our inevitable failures. Why do so many young adults graduate college only to find themselves unhappy and uninspired? Because this is the path that our educations led us down.

Somewhere along this path we were taught to be ourselves, express our creativity, and to value humanity. We were taught to be proud of every minuscule accomplishment and to relish in our victories by advancing ourselves to the next big thing. All of this was easy to do thanks to growing up with nifty gadgets like the internet and smart phones and possibly most of all: mailboxes full of university admissions letters. The fact of the matter is that the ultimate “next big thing” is higher education. Going to college has become increasingly important among millennials. In the fall of 2015, some 20.2 million students are expected to attend American colleges and universities, constituting an increase of about 4.9 million since the fall of 2000. That number is growing and showing little signs of slowing down with ideas like President Obama’s suggesting free community college to all people.

So, that is all sunshine and flowery. It’s great! It really is. Until you actually take a second to look at our Millennial ‘frontiers’ who are beginning to graduate college. Millennials graduate college feeling confident and optimistic about the world around them. But their confidence and self assurance often leads the generation to overestimate their employability, desirability, skills and abilities, and ultimately manifests as unrealistic expectations for their supervising managers, for employment, and for career advancement. Why should we need to “work our way up?” That’s not the millennial way. It’s 2015, the whole wide world is in the palm of my hands and I do not want to sit in front of a computer all day and perform tasks that were built for interns. I want to share my ideas. I want to work in a more comfortable environment. I want to make a difference.

I want. I want. I want.

This is a sad theme among our generation whether you like to believe it or not. All our lives we were told that we are special and that we deserve to get what we want-as long as we work hard enough for it. And so that is exactly what we do. We work hard. We work extremely hard. Applying for scholarships, pulling all-nighters studying for tests, holding steady part-time jobs, gaining experience, volunteering, going to class, “building our resumes” these are just some of the examples of how hard we work to get what we want. What do we want, though? Is what we are striving toward a made-up fairytale? I’m starting to think so. We have been spoon-fed false hopes all throughout our education leading up to a job market that doesn’t want what we have to offer. Or at least right now anyway.

Employers are the last of the social institutions to adapt to us millennials. It’s a little ironic considering the same companies who provided the tools and technologies that we as consumers bought into and lived by for so many years are the same corporations who are slow to accept the changes that young Americans are proposing. Our parents’ generation experienced a very different shift from education to employability. They were routed right to their cubicle and were told that if they did what they were told, they would have no problem climbing up the corporate ladder. This was the expectation of our parents’ generation. Our generation, however, has adapted to vastly different education systems that in turn create a void in the lives of recent college graduates on the job search. In 2000, 72.2 percent of Americans aged 20 to 24 were employed; four years later, it was 67.9 percent, barely two-thirds. Today, it is continuing to decline. With career expectations that millennials are going into the workforce with, they might as well be just another mediocre singer trying to impress Simon Cowell. Whatever you are expecting- it’s unlikely to happen. Our schools are encouraging our students to shoot for the moon when their gas tanks can barely take get them to Pancheros. When a college education becomes the mediocrity, entry-level jobs are going to be less and less appealing. Why work your butt off doing mindless work when you could be making cool coffee drinks with your friends for about the same wage?

I propose that if our education continues to let us believe that we are special, qualified, and desirable, then the same education should be given to employers. Make them aware of the culture of young people who are applying for their job openings. Educate the older generations on how we operate and that how we operate can be extremely productive if provided the right opportunities. All too often millennials are misunderstood and underrepresented. Maybe it's just that we are in a transitional period between generations in the work force and things will eventually change for the better. Until then, you can find us millennials in your nearest coffee shop, park, or library patiently waiting a job market that is ready to listen to what we have to say.