If you’re a millennial, the generation of people born between 1980 and 2000, then you are probably used to the constant bashing we receive from the older generations. It’s rare to be a millennial that hasn't heard, "Your generation is so lazy" or, "Your generation is so entitled." It gets really old really quickly. Well, fear not my fellow millennials. You’ll be happy to hear that the stereotypes about us aren’t really true. The ones that are usually aren’t even our fault. I’ll be debunking some of the most common of those blasphemous stereotypes. By then end of this rant, you’ll be able to put all of the Gen Xers and Baby Boomers in their place.

Let’s start with the one that almost all of us have heard. "Your generation is so lazy." If had had a dollar for every time I have heard this one. 40 percent of the unemployment rate is composed of millennials that are of working age. Therefore it must be true. Millennials are lazy right? Wrong. The problem with this argument is that it comes from the misguided idea that millennials aren’t trying to get jobs or make something of themselves. It’s not that we aren’t trying, hell we may be trying harder than any other generation ever has. More millennials attend college than any prior generation, yet we have the hardest time finding jobs. About 44% of millennial college graduates are stuck with low-paying jobs. Crazy, right? So who’s to blame for this disturbing statistic? Our parents and grandparents. Yep, those Gen Xers and Baby Boomers are to blame. The problem is they are taking up all the jobs and not retiring soon enough because they are afraid of economic instability. Meaning that all of the high paying jobs are still being occupied by this older work force. A company isn’t going to hire a fresh college graduate over someone who’s been doing the job for 20+ years. Perhaps they wouldn’t have to worry about financial instability if they hadn’t screwed up the economy. Point one for the Millennials.

Another common stereotype is this idea that we are all entitled/spoiled. This one is just ridiculous. We’re entitled because we are given participation points? False. The real entitled generation was the Baby Boomer generation. Back in the 20s and 30’s, it was 100% possible to live off of a minimum wage job. The Baby Boomers lived through one of the biggest periods of economic growth in American history. They enjoyed low energy costs while they destroyed the environment. Social Security, one of the biggest entitlements the government must fund, was created in 1935. Are the millennials benefitting from it? Absolutely not. In fact, odds are we never will because of the refusal to raise the age requirement and the growing number of people cashing in on it. By the time we get to the age where we would be eligible, there will likely be no money left. So next time one of your grandparents or anyone else tells you how entitled our generation is, make sure you remind them how they tripled the national debt, destroyed the environment, and are now enjoying their government entitlements while the millennials struggle to support themselves while simultaneously cleaning up their mess.

The last stereotype I’m going to cover is so broad and ridiculous that I’m not even going to spend a lot of time explaining why it is so stupid. Millennials are the worst generation yet. Now many people say this for many different reasons. Whether they think we are all into hookup culture or that we spend too much time on the internet, we have all heard this one too many times. I think it's important to note that all of the major problems that millennials are blamed for were provided by the generations before us. The war in Iraq, Global Warming, every recession ever. Hell, in the 20's people were literally taking out loans with credit. Yet you call us the "Worst Generation Ever"? Please.

So worry not my Millennial comrades. Despite all of out shortcomings, we aren't a terrible generation. In fact, we are innovated, creative, open minded, accepting, etc. Hang in there my fronds. At least we don't cause recessions...yet.