There's a reason the older generations hate us; they think we're lazy, entitled, whiny and self-absorbed. As much as I'd love to say that what they're saying about us isn't true, I've encountered far too many people on my campus that embody that stereotypical millennial attitude. We live in a time where we're selfie obsessed, and grew up with the "Everybody gets a trophy" mentality. This doesn't mean we're all this way, or that we don't work hard — but our generation as a whole is making far too many mistakes that will cost us big time in the big scary "real world," and might make us unemployable.

Curb Our Sensitivity

Sensitivity isn't entirely a negative attribute. It often means that you are a caring, compassionate individual. Yet, sensitivity can go too far. We're seen as a group who can't even get through a major, classic, work of literature without feeling "triggered" and "oppressed" by every word we read, and then are up in arms about how "offended" we are. I'm not saying that trigger warnings shouldn't exist, or that we shouldn't voice our opinions when we feel that there has been wrongdoing. What we do need to do, though, is pick our battles. We don't want to be seen as liabilities who will file a harassment lawsuit over something trivial, or about a misunderstanding. There truly are grave injustices in this world, but I seriously doubt every single one of them is happening to you.

Curb Our Entitlement

The number one complaint about millennials is how entitled we are. There are many of us that are working hard, putting ourselves through school on our own and what not, but there are also many of us who aren't. Unfortunately, that causes people to feel that because of their top tier education or their position in life, that everything should just be handed to them — while they put forth zero effort. If you've ever heard a freshman say something to the degree of: "Yeah, I want a summer internship, but I don't want to do the 'bitch work' and I want to be paid," you know what I mean. We expect that through our higher education, or our skills that are supposedly better than anyone else's, we will land an awesome job with all the perks, a shuttle, and free food right away. Come on guys, riding coach and public transportation builds character. We need to stop seeing "trying" as a negative attribute, because we're told by our peers that we're supposed to give of a "chill" "DGAF" vibe.

We Must Re-Learn Etiquette and Politeness

There's a common misconception that being cordial to someone makes you "fake," so for some reason its deemed as "OK" to be openly rude to someone you don't like. But that isn't being honest, brave, or funny. It's just rude. The internet and social media, through its anonymity, makes this kind of communication seem acceptable — but its not. What would be fake is being overly nice to them, over complementing them, constantly inviting them to hang out with you, or bending over backwards to make them like you. Treating someone you aren't too fond of with basic human decency is just the reality of being an adult. There is a fine line between being cordial and being "fake nice" though, so its important to learn, and train yourself to make a distinction. It will help you in the long run. There are other basic formalities of politeness that we've forgotten thanks to social media these days. Most people won't even give a quick, simple response to an email and leave the person on the other end hanging. In fact, we don't even know how to sign our emails! "Sincerely," "Dear," "To," and "From," are words that exist, remember? Also maybe don't chew with your mouth open, use your dinner fork for salad, or text at the table — but that's another lesson entirety. Which brings me to my final point...

LET'S GET OFF OUR DAMN PHONES

Yes, yes, I know. Shockingly, I'm not perfect. We do this too. Let's start to recognize a time and a place for using our phones and Snapchatting our friends ugly selfies. Dinner with your family — or worse, a potential employer — is not the time or the place. Maybe we should just stop and smell the roses (or cold brew coffee) every once and a while instead of Instagramming it (something I'm also guilty of and trying to stop). My friends and I recently were talking about how Snapchats from concerts are always super annoying, since it's basically just a humble brag about where you are. Its not like the sound or photo quality is even good enough tho actually see who's playing or hear the song. It also means you're just standing there on your phone and not enjoying the concert, or rave, or club you're at!

So I'm not saying we are all terrible human beings. Like anyone, we have our strengths and weaknesses. I can attest that no one wants a job more than us, so we definitely (sort of) have a work ethic. We're also great with technology. Let's just try to nip some of our bad habits in the bud before they become full-fledged problems of society.