"Wow, millennials are so lazy"

"Millennials spend all their time on their phones"

"Millennials are so rude and have no respect for anyone"

If you're like me, you've probably heard these phrases or something similar come out the mouth of an older adult. And you're probably sick of it. Well so am I.

Being a millennial was supposed to be a cool thing. It was supposed to be something that sets us apart. I mean only one generation every 1000 years gets to be a millennial generation. But instead, it has become a burden because of the stigma surrounding the term "millennial."

I am so tired of not feeling comfortable claiming the generation I am supposed to be a part of because the second you call yourself a millennial, an onslaught of negative comments are thrown in your face. I mean what do the older generations want us to do? We can't live life the way they did, I mean it was kind of torturous. My parent's love to bring up the fact that they "barned tobacco" growing up and how we'll never know labor like that. Okay, so what? I don't want to know labor like that. I'm perfectly content to let machines do the hard work for us. I don't want to stay outside and sweat my summer away in a tobacco field. I like the air conditioning and I don't think there is any harm in that.

Another thing older generations love to nag about is how lazy we are. And let me point out that this comment is ALWAYS after you've mentioned that you're taking a break from whatever it is you've been doing. Whether you're taking a gap year or going on vacation or even just going to the spa for a pedicure, older generations connect self-care with laziness. I mean, mental illnesses like anxiety and depression are at an all-time high, so taking a break won't kill me. Plus, it's my life. If I choose to take a break, I can.

They also LOVE to call us rude. Now, I work in retail and have for last year and a half. I work in a store that deals with A LOT of customers and let me tell you, the middle-aged and older generations are always ruder than people who are my age. Older generations love to get managers involved and love to essentially force us to break rules because their coupon expired or they misread a sale sign. My entire generation is in agreement on this.

I'm proud to be a millennial and I won't tolerate the stigma anymore.

I like technology. I like to take some time for myself every so often. I like Starbucks and Pinterest and taking selfies with my friends and social media. I like being a millennial because I've been given so many opportunities the generations before us didn't get. I intend to use every advantage that I, as a millennial, have been blessed with to make the world a better place.

Overall, we are a kind generation. We preach positivity and encourage acceptance. We want everyone to love themselves and to love others. As a matter of fact, one personal motto I like to live by is "Love yourself like you want others to love you, and love others like you should love yourself." I cannot tell you how many people have seen that in my social media bios and then told me it resonated with them.

Overall, we're a good group of people. Obviously, no generation is perfect but I think we have a bad reputation for basically no reason. So post your selfie on Instagram, use your phone, and be proud to be a millennial.