Week after week new anti-millennial rants show up on our news feeds labeling us as entitled, lazy, and impatient among a long list of other relatively unpleasant traits. Instead of combating these comments with what may come off as excuses or additional rude generalizations about past generations, I’m going to discuss what makes our generation pretty freaking great.

For starters, we are more interested and present in the work force than people give us credit for. More than one-in-three U.S. employees today are Millennials. Of the 83.1 million Millennials in the United States, half are interested in starting their own business and over 27% are already self-employed. As this population ages, these numbers will only go up.

When it comes to education Millennials are the most highly educated generation to date including an increase in college attendance for people of color and low-income families. Although having a bachelor's degree has become more common in recent years, Millennials are more likely to attend graduate school than any other generation. Despite the horrors of modern day student loans and debt, this generation continues to not only further, but value their education.

Much like us caring about our education, we also care about the environment. Not only are Millennials on average supportive of implementing more rigid laws and regulations regarding environmental issues, but we are more than willing to put our money where our mouth is. More than two-thirds of Millennials are willing to pay more for environmentally friendly products or items made by eco-friendly companies. Overall, Millennials are going green faster than any other generation.

We value many of our traits as a generation as well. Millennials pride themselves on being the most diverse generation yet with about 43% being non-white. This goes hand in hand with our tendency towards inclusiveness with over 70% of Millennials supporting same-sex marriage.

Overall, our generation is pretty impressive. Instead of telling us what is wrong with our generation, applaud our progress and help us become a better group of people not only for ourselves, but to help ensure a better future for all of us.