Dear older generations,

You all have been calling us names for quite some time now. I've sat back and listened as you threw words around like "whiner", "brat", "special snowflake", etc. It seems as time goes on it just gets worse and worse. I debated writing this article purely for the fact I was a little bit afraid it would only increase the name-calling. But I realized I shouldn't be afraid of you just because you're older.

So please stop calling me names. Stop writing me off as a "leftist" or "someone who doesn't understand" or "a parrot". I can assure you, I am no parrot. Maybe I am some kind of other bird that squawks, because I will squawk my truth, but I am not just saying these things because I heard someone else say them. Surely you all know me as an intelligent woman who knows what she is talking about, yes? So why do you use language that demeans me and discredits my opinion?

Look, I get it. You're wiser and older, and generally have a better breadth of knowledge than I do. I understand. These words I say here are by no means those of disrespect. Without you all it's likely I wouldn't be here. I am just asking for a small bit of respect towards me.

I can hear them now, "ohhhh the entitled one wants some respect? you better earn it like I did!" It's true, my struggles and trials were and are different than yours. But I would say my everyday fight to get my education and better myself as a human being is a means of earning respect. I know no one or nothing owes me anything in this world. I know that if I want something I have to go out and get it.

So what's the big deal? If I am acting like I am so strong, then why am I making such a fuss over a few little words that get associated with me? I'll tell you why. These words represent a lack of understanding. By calling us entitled whiners, you brand what we say as less important before we even open our mouths. Often times I feel like you all don't even consider our side-- I've tried considering yours. Really, I have. If you don't think that's true, I suggest re-reading this article. I'm trying to be respectful here, really.

There is a great divide between generations in our nation. I'm not saying that my generation is all good either. I've come to realize we are not as helpful as we think we are. We come into arguments and address concerns with more anger than is necessary; I am trying to work on myself. I want to educate people about the issues I think are important. Yes, it is possible for a 19 year old to educate someone older than she is. My world and your world at my age is completely different. We know more things now than we knew then, and that will continue to happen. When I am older the world will have changed once more, and I will probably have 19 year olds disagreeing with me too.

I guess what this whole rant was about was to ask you to listen to us. Do you know how much time you could save yourself if you didn't call us all those fancy names you have for us? You could save yourself some time and listen to us. You might find that we are not what you think. We might find you are not what we think.