Recently, I was having a conversation with a friend of mine about our age group. Needless to say, the discussion turned into one about our generation: The Millennial Generation or Generation-Y. Those born between 1980 and the early 2000s define the Millennial Generation. It is no secret that every generation tries to make an impact on the world; the Baby Boomers are notorious for changing social norms and setting new precedents. Yet, from talking with numerous people, both in my generation and others, I have come to find out what people think about Millennials, and its not too great.

Our parents have worked tirelessly to provide a wonderful life for us. However, because of all we have been given, and grown up around there is a definite sense of entitlement about us. This can be seen in the way we carry ourselves and the way we interact with peers and in the workplace.

I do not believe that I am the only one to notice this, but when interacting with other Millennials, it always seems like we have to one-up-each other. What ever happened to the phrase; ‘there will always be someone prettier, smarter, and better than you; but there will never be another you’? We do not need to boastfully flash our accomplishments (or lack there of) to outdo a peer. We should be content with being ourselves. We are not entitled to be the best at anything and everything. The world owes us nothing. We do not need nor deserve prizes simply for participating. This is sending the wrong message. Yes, sometimes in life we will get our feelings hurt, but that is how we know to grow. Strength is measured by the amount of times we have fallen down and gotten back up.

While having a lovely dinner with my family and some guests, the topic of Millennials was again brought up. Our guests had brought forth a new perspective to the table that I had not thought of before—Millennials in the workplace. The idea was introduced that our generation has a high turnover rate in employment. Upon reflection of this topic it became clear to me why employers have had to change their strategies when hiring from Generation-Y. To put it bluntly our generation is perceived as lazy (this is just a generalization, there are individuals in our generation doing amazing things). This can make it hard for us to keep jobs. Yes, sometimes where we find ourselves is not what we had envisioned; but with hard work and determination (something I think we are beginning to lack) we will move up on the ladder. We cannot improve if we take excessive amounts of sick days or don’t accomplish any tasks while at work.

Don’t get me wrong; I am not saying that the Millennial Generation is a lost generation. We have many innovators, scholars and activists making huge strides. Yet, there are enough of us not doing anything at all to make other generations nervous about how we will turn out. We can tell them the world has changed and that this is what is best for it, but we know that isn’t true. We owe it to ourselves to take pride in our hard work, not pride in what has been freely given. I believe we can be a great generation if we put down our phones, laptops and tablets, stepped away from the television, stopped waiting for the world to drop something in our laps and just went out and worked hard for it. We have the potential to change the world in so many beneficial ways; all we lack is the motivation.