I am a millennial.

To me, this statement holds power and promise, because I see my generation for what we are and what we will become. I see a generation full of people who aren't afraid to say what is on their mind simply because it may hurt someone's feelings. I see a generation full of inventors, leaders and overall amazing people.

I see the world's future athletic stars, artistic geniuses, musical sensations and kindhearted humanitarians. We're the generation who grew up with technology advancing almost as fast as we ourselves were growing. We have seen (and possibly owned) every generation of the iPhone, we have mastered the skills of the technology the prior generations left us and we have even created our own applications to make life easier.

We are a wide-eyed, bright-minded, lighthearted and determined bunch.

But not many people outside of our generation see us like this.

We have been labeled as "lazy" because we like instant gratification. Most of us realize what hard work is and when we need to earn things, but who doesn't like the easy route sometimes?

We're known as "technologically addicted" to the devices that the prior generation invented. I was in elementary school when we started using computers to learn in school. Almost every day we were assigned work on them and this became more popular as I moved into higher education.

If our educational programs can evolve into making things easier and faster via technology, obviously our everyday lives can do the same. Media outlets use television broadcasting – weather can be checked in an app, and we can reach our friends across the globe with one text. Of course our generation is going to take advantage of the technology we have. Besides, didn't previous generations stop writing letters once the telephone became popular since it was more convenient?

We've been dubbed as "greedy" and "entitled." Now, in my opinion, this is the fault of the generations who raised us. We were just the beginning of the sickening "everyone gets a trophy" trend that has escalated out of control. Instead of learning that there is always a winner and a loser, we learned that sometimes there is a winner but there are never losers. How does this help us?

We're known as "frivolous spenders" because we live at home longer or don't save every single penny we earn. We go on trips with our friends, buy nice clothes or get tattoos and piercings. We buy more of the smaller things we can afford and the things that will make us happier in the long run.

Houses and cars are expensive for anyone in today's world. Even decent apartments are hard to find for under $600 a month. With the thousands of dollars in student loans our generation is accumulating, it's no wonder we usually postpone the big purchases.

Lastly, my favorite thing about millennials that I've heard is how we "care less about education." The generation that is carrying the most crippling student loans in history is considered to care less about education than the generations prior to us. Can someone please explain how that makes any sense?

Standards in today's society have made being employed without some sort of degree or certification nearly impossible, so millennials have to care about their education if they want to be employed in the future. We have to care about our education, and how dare anyone say we care less than them.

Despite all the negativity associated with my generation, I still have faith that we will work through the obstacles in our way. The doubt of older generations, the damage the caused to the environment and the toll they have taken on political and financial institutions around the world will be left for us.

Many people doubt us and think we will only make it worse for the generations after us, but I don't believe that one bit.