As a millennial, I feel personally attacked by society. Day in and day out, we hear older generations viciously rip apart our generation's every move. We get called lazy and entitled. We get called communists and feminazis. It almost seems like the older generations forget who raised us this way: them. The same people who criticize our generation are the same age as our parents and grandparents, yet they complain about how we turned out.
In every generation you have the stereotypical lazy bums, but everyone assumes that if you're a millennial then you have to be the scum of the Earth. The real root behind our perceived laziness is our widespread use of technology in everyday life. Millennials can be spotted in their natural habitats binge watching Netflix, snapchatting, or playing Pokémon Go. We are couch potatoes on a mission. Sometimes we even use our electronics to do important things like pay bills or do work. It's an interesting concept, I know.
Older generations also love to point out how overly politically correct and entitled we are. The truth about this is that we've just grown as a society. We've come to realize that racism and homophobia and transphobia have no place in the world that we're creating. We've come to realize that humor and conversations can genuine and not include offensive language. We also really aren't that entitled. We want what our grandparents had economically: the ability to afford college, to afford a house, to afford food. We acknowledge that working part time shouldn't guarantee us a great amount of pay, but we definitely realize that full time work should offer something more than poverty. Millennials probably work harder than our parents and grandparents for less pay, but we get called entitled when we ask for a pay raise.
People love to say that we have no morals because we aren't outspoken about religious superiority like in the past. Millennials still love God, or Allah, or Siddhartha; however we don't try to convert people to our train of thought. It is true that we are considerably more atheist and agnostic than our predecessors, but that doesn't mean that we lack morals. Millennials understand that religion and morals can be mutually exclusive because knowing right from wrong is human, not religious.
As a millennial, I have one last thing to mention. Dear older generations, please don't criticize us too much. I'm not saying this because I can't take criticism, but I am saying this because the fault for the way society is lays on your shoulders. I wouldn't have to ask for a higher minimum wage or lower tuition costs if you guys hadn't shattered the economy with your love of paying for things on credit. I wouldn't love technology so much if you hadn't introduced me to it at such a young age. I wouldn't be so "violently liberal" if you guys had realized that people are people sooner.
Also as a millennial, I have one last thing to say to other millennials. You're perfect the way you are. We need to be proud of our generation. Blast that Beyoncé, stand up for political correctness, fight for justice, take that rocking selfie, and contour your face. #PullThatSlayTrick
Sheetal Tadiparty
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