For the past couple of years the millennial generation has become sort of an enigma to the Baby Boomer generation. They don’t understand why we still live with our parents, why we can’t find good jobs and why we’re so obsessed with selfies. To them we are a foreign species and I’m here to debunk all the myths that have been said about us millennials.
I'm a Millennial, But I'm Not...
1. "Lazy"
Older generations have this assumption that all of us Millennials are lazy children who believe that everything should be handed to us without hard work. This is a simple myth. I know plenty of people who work two jobs while still maintaining a 4.0 GPA just to cover only 30 percent of their school's tuition.
There are many millennials who take on the role of a parent in order to put food on the table for their families. I mean I'm not going to lie, sometimes I'm a little lazy. I wait until the last minute to do anything, and that is a flaw that I am constantly working to overcome.
But that doesn't mean I won't work hard for what I want. Every generation has lazy people, and some people are lucky to have everything. But the way our country is set up now, we don't have those advantages the baby boomers claim we do have.
2. "Narcissistic"
The Baby Boomers are quite critical of our generation. We take a couple of selfies and suddenly we are labeled as the ME generation. Yes, we like taking selfies and posting them on social media. Yes, sometimes we get a little obsessive when it comes to likes, comments and shares. But that doesn't diminish all that we can accomplish.
Technology and social media do have problems as does anything that we choose to abuse, but technology has brought forth many advancements. Teenager Olivia Hallisey won the Google Science Fair with a project that tests for Ebola.
The test takes about half an hour and is about 25 dollars which are better than the price of 1,000 dollars. Yes, technology has its side effects and maybe we do rely on it too often, but at the same time, we don't just use it to inflate our sense of self-worth. We use technology to help make the world a better place and we are just the generation to do that.
3. "Entitled"
This one is my favorite. That we are the entitled generation. We believe that everything belongs to us and that we are entitled to it just because we want it.
You are absolutely right.
This is the land of opportunity, is it not? We are entitled to have free tuition for higher education. We are entitled to our opinions when it comes to politics. We should be. My parents always told me that in order to succeed in life you have to act like you want it.
You need to believe that you as a human being are entitled to all that this country has to offer and strive for it. If you don't do it, it will fall into the next guy's hands.
By "it" I mean opportunities and advantages that are not always seen with the naked eye. If I'm not seen as an entitled brat, then I'm seen as lazy. You have to want it in order to get it.
Life has changed across generations but the arguments always remain the same. I am a Millennial, but that doesn't mean we are all identical to the brat who bumped into you at the mall while taking a selfie. Yes, we are Millennials, but we are smart, intelligent individuals with bright ideas on how we can make this a great country.
