With the Fourth festivities coming to a close with this past weekend, and modern-day America, it's often quite questionable just what we should be celebrating, because, in reality, we're often asking: just how far have we come?

As millennials, we're often bombarded with accusations of being the self-centered, lazy, technologically centered generation. We're called complainers and often told we just don't understand because "we never had a war to live through".

I'm not here to argue whether or not there's truth to these bold statements (although, as a millennial, I really do think we go so beyond this). I want to address, in the current political mood of the country, just what we should be addressing as this momentous holiday surpasses.

The Fourth of July is a holiday in the USA that celebrates the day that the Continental Congress (the US's first established government) finally agreed on the wording and changes made by the submitted draft, just two days prior, on July 2nd, 1776, of the Declaration of Independence.

The political environment has been difficult for anyone not living under a rock in 2017. With Trump's controversial win to be our Commander-in-Chief, many of us millennials have started to wonder just what exactly we interpret to be American.

Whether you agree with Trump's voracious efforts to eliminate illegal aliens, terminate healthcare access subsidized by the government, or quite frankly, anything he says or does, politics has been a hot discussion often erupting into an argument and riot.

To myself and the fellow millennials who have experienced this political turmoil this past year, I found it difficult to really internalize whether or not Americans really should be celebrating declaring independence those 241 years ago. But as I drove up California to Oregon for the Fourth with my family, I did some reflecting.

Here's what I'm celebrating: the fight.

One thing we can't ignore about the United States is that throughout history, we had to fight. We fought to relieve our country from oppression from England, we fought to eliminate slavery, to gain civil rights for everyone, and so much more. So here's how I see it: the fight is never over.

As millennials, we're aging and becoming the leaders that will one day control the country. Call us lazy, but we're pretty damn courageous.

As so many people were devastated by Trump's win for President, we still strive to better the country we all love. The Women's March that took place all over the country was a demonstration of this courage and resilience, not just in reply to Trump's win, but to tell the country that us women are still fighting and believe in the quota of equality for all.The protests on election night were also an example. Love it or hate it, this country gave us the right to disagree and fight for what is right, and our generation made damn sure we took advantage of that.

The USA has many problems, too many to list off the tongue, but the Fourth of July is a special time for us to celebrate the fight in all of us Americans, regardless of gender, race, or income. We fight for women's rights, we fight for income equality, we fight for those less fortunate-- not just in the USA, but across the globe. We carry the message our Founding Fathers had-- that of independence and strength.

The world is in the hands of my generation, whether you like it or not. I know that the world we create will be better than what has been and I know my generation will be a voice for those less fortunate.

So this Fourth of July, I hope you celebrated. I hope you recognized the fight that we have-- and have had for 241 years now. I hope you thanked a US soldier who put his life on the line for our freedom. I hope you hugged your family and were thankful for a land that gave you all you have. I really hope you were able to look at this country and see promise because that's all I see. The night is darkest before the sun and I know that the future coming is one that holds the promise of a better world that will continue to stand up and fight for what is right.

God Bless the USA, and to the millennials-- we never, ever, will stop fighting for a better life for generations to come-- for all races, genders, and people of the world.