Growing up in the millennial generation comes with a monsoon of generalizations and stereotypes. According to older generations, we are lazy, entitled, and impatient. We seek instant gratification from our cellular devices.

Our dating culture revolves around apps and casual sex. We’ll never know just how hard life was without the amazing technology we have today. We can never experience the full potential of genuine human connection when our minds are fixated on likes that are too low, snaps that have been opened, and messages that have been read. We’re needy. We’re selfish. We’re the epitome of annoying.

Honestly, I can absolutely agree with some of these stereotypes. I’ve come into contact with so many people my age who are lazy and selfish and entitled. I’ve seen our dating culture completely wreck people’s conceptions of love. I, myself, have become a bit too worried about my social media. I’ve let an opened snap and a read message ruin my day.

But are we to blame?

In a world where kids basically come out of the womb with tablets in their hands and the ability to type a text without looking, how can they be expected to not be used to instant gratification?How can they not be entitled when they have an iPhone X by age 7? How can they not place their value on Instagram likes when they make an account before they’ve even hit puberty?

But we haven’t been pre-programmed to have these traits. Our environments have turned us into these stereotypes. We are no different from the older generations other than the fact that we were born in a different time period. That’s it.

Even though I’ve met people my age who fit the stereotypes, I’ve also met people who break them. I’ve met people who’ve never had a social media account and don’t plan to. Some of the most hardworking, selfless people I know are millennials.

The millennial generation is the most accepting, nonjudgmental generation to date. Being in college at this time and at my age, I am exposed to people of all different races, backgrounds, and stories, and we are all connected through the stereotypes we were born into and the struggle behind student loans and demanding course loads. And most of us are completely accepting of each other. Most of us care about our education.

There are criticisms and complaints about every generation. Each is shaped by the culture and the environment of the time period they were born in.

And naturally, each generation suffers the consequences and the benefits of the mistakes and the innovations of the generations before.

These consequences and benefits can bring out the best and worst in the generations to come.

Though, generalizations about the people in these generations are sometimes ungrounded and hasty. And, of course, not all of us fit the stereotypes.

My general point is that the way we are is not completely our fault, and we are not all as selfish as we are made out to be. We are smart, adaptive, and fast learners, and there is no limit to what we will accomplish in the future regarding technology and social progression.

To fight against the millennial generalizations, I try to be as hardworking as possible. I try to check my privilege, to put my phone down, to look towards my future knowing it won't all come easy. The best way to fight the stereotype is to prove them all wrong.