During Hillary Clinton’s acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention, she made a comment about today’s young people (Millennials) that struck me. She said, “We have the most tolerant and generous young people we’ve ever had,” and it made me begin thinking about what makes me proud to be a Millennial, even though so much negativity surrounds our generation. After some serious thought and consideration, I’ve come up with two of the biggest reasons why I will never be ashamed to be a Millennial.
Firstly, Senator Clinton is absolutely right when she says that our generation is “tolerant,” if this term is applied to social and ethical issues.
I’m not sure where this acceptance and tolerance stems from, but it seems as though our generation makes a conscious effort to be progressive in our thoughts and ideals. Unlike our elders, our generation has been more open and supportive of minority groups, and are more willing to endorse equality and justice. For example, according to the Pew Research Center, the Millennial generation has been consistently more supportive of causes such as same-sex marriage and promoting female education. Based solely on the data, it’s safe to say that we’re a generation that supports the betterment of society, rather than the betterment of ourselves alone. We have an unwavering optimism that the world can be a better place if we do our part.
Secondly, I’m proud to be a Millennial because we work hard, regardless of the conditions we’re put in.
While previous generations will say “Back in my day, we had it so much harder,” I find this false. Sure, the Baby Boomers had it hard, but the problems they faced are so much different than the problems we face today. The price for their education was significantly less than that of today’s students, so they never had to worry about crippling debt that they would be paying off for their entire lifetime. They also lived in a time where the rate of productivity was similar to the rate of pay per hour, whereas today’s generation of young adults are being more productive and getting less pay for their work. We’ve had to come of age during a time where the economy is struggling and making ends meet is pretty difficult for most Americans. But regardless of the conditions that have been thrown at us, we take each obstacle and do our best to handle it.
Being a Millennial in this day and age is often surrounded by a negative stereotype of being lazy and entitled, but I will never be ashamed of the generation I’ve grown up in. Our ideals and values have been shaped by the generation before, and we will shape the generations to come. While some may say that our generation is literally the worst, I whole-heartedly believe that because of our generation, the world is a better place and will continue to get better in time.
