“Yes, I’m a Millennial. So what?”

I've begun to lose track of how many times "my generation" has been labeled as "millennials."   It's a fairly generic word in the English vocabulary meant to classify those born between 1981-2001, or at least it used to be.  Today it is grouped with certain characteristics.  According to businessdictionary.com, millennials are “more likely to lean liberal in their political ideology, less likely to practice religion than previous generations, and grew up in the age of technology and therefore are very versed in technology.”  This makes sense to a degree, given the changing technological and political landscapes.

Our parents didn’t grow up with Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.  They didn’t interact through a screen with people on a daily basis whom they might never actually meet in person. They also grew up in a time period where it was not yet possible to elect an African American president or believe that a woman could run for office.  Does that somehow make them naïve or close-minded?  No, it doesn’t because climates change.  Labels change.  Even laws change.  So why then did the term “millennial” become so negative?  When did it become associated with laziness and entitlement?  

We are the age of social media, glued to our phones 24/7 as some would say, lost in our own self-absorption to not care about what’s going on in the real world.  We’re more likely to be sipping lattes at a coffee house then reading a book.  Or are we? 

Our generation is also more likely to have student loan debt and not be working in the career we thought we’d be in after earning our college degrees.  I will probably be 82 before I finish paying off my loans but that’s how it is.  It doesn’t make me entitled.  It has opened my eyes to the realization that I must continue to find new ways of creating and defining myself.

Who created these stereotypes?  Society.  You know what I have to say to society?  Look at me.  I worked my butt off to get to where I am today.  I didn’t get that “dream job” out of college, but I did get a job and worked my way up, all the while realizing that my job will never define me.

Labels come in all shapes and sizes, but what really matters is how you choose to define yourself.  I may not be perfect, or have all the answers to whatever life throws in my direction but my path is not yet clearly defined.  And that’s the way I like it.  I’m thankful for the experiences that I’ve gone through (and believe me, there have been my fair share of crappy ones) but one thing I am not is someone who will be put down by what others perceive me to be. 

Yes I love my Starbucks, I probably couldn’t go a day without reaching for my phone, but so what?  I’m still learning that inspiration comes in many ways, some days are better than others, and I have yet to discover the meaning of life.  But one day I’ll be sitting in my rocker blasting Backstreet Boys, or maybe watching Apollo 13 for the zillionth time, going, “I got it right.”  I didn’t change myself to conform to what other people wanted me to be.  I was myself.  

So the next time someone rolls their eyes at you and says, “Oh, you’re such a millennial,” fire back and say, “Why, yes I am,” with your head held high as you sip from your fat free, sugar free, caramel macchiato.