From a Millennial to the world

Yes. I am a millennial. Proud to be one. And it comes with great responsibility. Therefore, I am here to share what being a millennial means to me.

The word people use often to describe millennials is entitlement. We are said to be the generation that got participation trophies and, as a consequence, we don't handle rejection or criticism really well. Maybe that is partially true - but who said this has to be a bad thing? 

When we get a no, we keep fighting until we get a yes (or at least, a satisfying 'why not'). When we are no longer happy at our job, we seek employment elsewhere. When we know we deserve a promotion, we plainly ask for it - while presenting a list of all the reasons why we earned it. Does that make us entitled? Or does that mean we intend to achieve our goals and won't settle for less?

We grew up seeing our parents working all day to make sure we had a good future. They barely had time for family and leisure. Every so often, they hated their jobs. However, it meant money, so if they had to swallow their pride on some occasions or work every hour of every day to support their family, they wouldn't think twice. And we are more than greatful for that. Believe me. Even tough it doesn't mean we want that life for ourselves. 

The objective is to ensure their sacrifices weren't in vain. Our parents efforts aimed for us to have a better future, and that is exactly what we are pursuing. We don't need to have the highest job position or all the money in the world - simply enough to support ourselves, take vacations, travel, and spend quality time with our friends and family. This is how our generation sees true happiness. 

In my opinion, the word that best describes millennials is resilience. We adapt. Most of us grew up with no cellphones or internet; now they are a big part of our lives. Except technology was not our only curveball. Unexpectedly, responsibility came knocking on our doors. Several horrible reality checks were brought to our attention - racism, homophobia, harassment, bullying - and not only we had to educate ourselves not to be part of the problem, we also know we have to be big part of the solution. 

Here we find ourselves between a wise and hardworking generation that let some things go for far too long, and a new generation wanting a fresh start. For them, a clean slate means being whoever they want, without judgement - for who they are as well as the choices they make. Honestly, who doesn't want that? And we are the generation with plenty ability to make it happen. We can build a bridge between their new ideas and the experienced perspectives from previous generations. We are the 'translators' because we can understand (and this doesn't mean we agree with) both sides and where they are coming from. Our mission is simple: just like our parents did for us, we want a better life for generations to come. And that means leaving the world a better place then what we got.