I’m a Millennial. I was born in 1995, and I’m proud of the person I am today. But there's a few stereotypes given to my generation that I would like to clear up.
I’m not lazy. I just don’t want to spend my life behind a desk. I don’t like to wear a uniform because I don’t like to be like everyone else. I don’t like having a job that makes me sit from 9-5 behind a desk. I don't like having to say no to plans because I have to work. I'm supposed to be enjoying my life and I should be doing the things I want to do and the things I love to do, not flipping burgers or answering phones all day. I want to be able to say "yes" to plans, and not have to say "I can't, I have to work."
I’m not disrespectful and rude, I just give respect and am kind to those who respect and are kind me. My parents taught me the golden rule: treat others how you want to be treated, and I thought that's how it was supposed to be out in the real world. So why should I treat you with respect, when you treat me like I'm less than you? I don't care if you're older than me, Its not that I'm disrespecting my elder. I'm sticking up for myself because you're treating me poorly and if that's how you're treating me, that must be how you want to be treated. If you expect respect from me, you must return the respect. Otherwise, you're not getting it.
I’m not self-absorbed, I just don’t let my life pass without enjoying it. I think of others MORE than I think about myself. However, I make sure that my happiness is always taken care of before I take care of others. Do not tell me that I do not care about you, because I do, but I also have to take care of myself. Realize that, remember that, and make sure you do it for yourself too.
I'm not picky, I just don't accept less than the best. I'm not going to settle for something that isn't what I actually want. I'm not going to be okay with something that's close to what I want, and I'm not going to stop until I have what I want and I'm happy. I won't let people treat me as less than I am, I won't take a job that won't treat me the way I should be treated, and I won't "put up" with people that treat me badly.
I believe that those who are older than the millennials contradict themselves when they talk about us, or to us for that matter. You're the ones who raised us and taught us to treat others how we want to be treated, but you don't treat us how you want to be treated. You hate on us for taking selfies, but you tell us to love our bodies and make sure we know self-worth. You judge us for our work ethic, but we're the ones that are turning heads and creating new jobs and new industries. We don't accept hating on other people because of their gender, the color of their skin, their religion or their sexual preference, and you're the ones who fought for those rights, so why do you hate on us for accepting them? You judge some of us who can't afford to attend college, saying that they won't go anywhere in life, but college costs triple the amount it did when you went and some of us honestly can't afford it.
You raised us to love people, to be accepting, to not let others walk all over us; to push for what we want and become whatever we wanted to be when we grew up. Now we're grown up and you hate us for it. This is who you raised us to be. We are the future. We're the millennials, and we're not going to change.
