I was working on the seventh hour of my eight-hour shift when an older man came to the counter. He noticed a sign hung on my cash stand which said, “Help Wanted,” to which he commented, “Well, ain’t that a shame.” Confused, I asked what he meant; he replied, “Folks of your generation are just so entitled. They’ve never had to work a day in their lives and don’t even understand what hard work is. It’s just hard to find anyone young who is willing to work.” I was taken aback by his comment, even a little hurt. I wanted to tell him about how I was working three different jobs to get myself through school. I wanted to tell him about my friend, who has worked since he was fourteen to help support his single mother. But instead of telling him this, I just grinned and handed the man his receipt. Another day, we had to lock up some of our products in my store because people were stealing them. I had a woman come up to me and ask why the items were locked up. I replied that people were stealing them, so we needed to lock them up. She then said, “It’s a shame that your generation makes us do stuff like this. You all think you’re entitled to whatever you want.”

Entitlement is a word I have heard thrown around often to describe my generation. The definition of the word does not imply anything negative; it simply means that someone has access to a right or a thing. However, the word has recently been given a negative connotation, leading it to be connected with other words such as selfish or lazy. We, as a human race, have been known for over-generalizing groups of people. Too often we judge someone based on their age because of experiences we have had with people of the same age. These people I have interacted with see my generation as lazy and rude. However, I have seen many positive things that the “entitled generation” has accomplished.

My generation is skilled at social media. We have connected with more people than ever before because of these technological skills we have mastered, and because of this, we have friends in many places around the world. I have seen people of my generation come together to support victims of cyber bullying. I have seen peers more involved and vocal about their political views because of their online activity. I have seen many people of my age raise money for things they care about, by using marketing techniques and the internet. My generation is kind and open minded; they are hard working and strong. My generation stands together like no generation has before. We are able, as a group, to accomplish more in a day than any past generation could in a week.

Let’s look at the definition of entitlement again; it is access to a right or privilege. Shouldn’t we want future generations to be entitled? Shouldn’t we strive for our children to have access to change the world we live in for the better? So maybe my generation is entitled, but we are definitely using that entitlement to further this world for the better.