Lazy. Short attention span. Bad at communicating. Impatient. Unreliable. These are just a few characteristics that are commonly associated with "Generation Y," or the millennial generation. While I am not denying that some of these may be true for some people in our generation, I also think that a lot of great characteristics of millennials are overlooked. People are quick to write millennials off as useless, but I think that the things that us millennials have been exposed to and forced to overcome have made us a resilient and adaptive generation. Here are a few of the more important characteristics of many millennials that make me proud to be a member of this generation.

Quick to adapt

Growing up through things like the Great Recession exposed millennials to difficult times that made daily life unpredictable. Because of this upbringing, many millennials have an uncanny ability to evaluate and adapt to a new situation without being hung up on how "unfair" it may seem.

Speedy Learners

The constant access to new technology at our fingertips has made learning on the spot a skill that is second nature to most millennials. Being exposed to so many different and ever-changing pieces of technology gave us the skills to pick up something new and teach ourselves how to work it within minutes. This skill translates to many other parts of life as well and allows us to feel comfortable navigating unknown territory with ease.

Efficient

What some may call lazy, I call efficient. Millennials may not follow the traditional road to accomplish things, but that is because we are always looking for a simpler way to accomplish the task with less effort exerted and less time wasted. So yes, we may cut corners but that is only because we found a faster way to reach the destination.

Adventurous

According to Boston Consulting group, far more millennials report a desire to visit every continent and travel abroad as much as possible than previous generations. This is because millennials have grown up in a such a global-minded time in history that the world does not seem nearly as vast and unreachable as before.

Empathetic

Millennials have been left with a planet that is completely trashed, and countless global problems staring them in the face each and every day. These struggles and tragedies have fostered a sense of responsibility to clean up these messes left to us, and an inability to ignore the need for reform. Before, it was all too simple to ignore the problem and assume it was going to be solved by someone else, but millennials have taken responsibility for problems that were not created by us, and make daily decisions to promote support for those in need.

Accepting

Millennials have also grown up amidst some of the biggest changes in public policy regarding many different minorities, and the empathy that millennials feel allows for us to accept everyone for exactly how they are, and not judge someone just for being different.

After reading this list, I'd hope that you feel just as proud as I do to be called a millennial. After all, these qualities aren't too shabby if you ask me.