In today's society, millennials are often being ignored. We are characterized as "too young" or "too naive". But has anyone ever stopped and thought about how we as millennials may actually have more knowledge on today's issues?

Think about it: the majority of us get a quality education, most at least have a high school diploma or GED. Speaking from personal experience, I know that education is getting more and more complex as the years go on: My parents stopped being able to help me with math and science when I turned 10, and they both have college degrees. Our young minds are being exposed to so much more than other people have ever had the opportunity to access before.

We are also the generation who has been completely submerged in technology. Most of us don't remember a life without a computer, cell phone, or the internet. Generations before us haven't had the opportunity to completely live in a world full of technology and all it has to offer, and that gives us a huge advantage.

We understand how technology works and how useful it can be, as we don't know life any other way. For the first time, we are able to find out information about anything at literally any moment. We are able to connect with people all over the world and find out news the second it happens. Ignoring our knowledge of such a useful resource is not only stupid, but also damaging to everyone's futures.

Something I find completely ridiculous about generations before us is how ignorant they are of millennials, and the experience that we have with all of these current issues in our society.

So, let's talk about gun control.

Now everyone is entitled to their own opinions about gun control and what kinds of regulations we should have, but was I find baffling is how inconsiderate the government, the NRA, and older generations are being towards millennials. WE are the one's who have to watch our friends and peers be shot and killed. WE are the one's who have to practice 'shooter drills' in our schools now because of how normal shootings are becoming.

WE are the one's that are face to face with this reality of school shootings way too often. And what I don't understand is how the government and NRA have the audacity to say that we as students are uninformed, or naive, etc. We are the only one's who completely understand this issue. Honestly, I shouldn't even be including myself, because I have been fortunate enough to not have to experience such a tragedy within my lifetime. But I stand with those who have, as I am a millennial who's opinion is being ignored, and it needs to stop.

We need to be heard.

Our voices are stronger than ever before.

And we demand change.

But shifting off the topic of gun control, our opinion matters no matter what the issue. We are living in a period of activism, and millennials are the head of it. We want change, not just because activism is "trendy" or "current", but because we want to change the world that we are going to live in and that our children will grow up in.

We don't want to fear about school shootings, climate change, pollution, etc in our lifetimes, much less in our children's lifetimes. The generations before us have destroyed our world, and Millennials all over the world are trying to fix it. We are reshaping our world so that we will enjoy living in it.

So, To Whoever It May Concern,

Please do not ignore us. We are a lot more powerful than you think. I, and millennials around me, want to fix this world so that it doesn't crash and burn, but rather becomes better than it's ever been before. Don't ignore our opinions because we are younger, or don't quite have our degrees. We are more powerful than this world thinks.