If you’re between the ages of ten and thirty, then welcome to Generation Y—more widely known as “The Millennial Generation.” Born between 1980 and the early 2000s, we are, to the world, the lazy, narcissistic, self-obsessed youth whose need for instant gratification and flexible lifestyle knocks every other generation out of the water. But just because we delay some adulthood rites like starting a life-long career or marrying (as shown in studies done by Time magazine) doesn’t mean we’re less capable. On a brighter note, we are the most tech-savvy generation to date and have been described to be more open-minded about lifestyles and worldviews. We are culturally diverse, and we even have the highest rate of high school graduates going to college compared to any other generation.

Being a Millennial child myself, I can say that, while some of the criticism is true, I don’t believe that all of it is. While others call us lazy, chances are they’ve never dealt with as much stress as we do. Technology has linked us into the world, pitting us against other countries that have a lot to offer. Not only are we expected to score higher on standardized tests, but we’re pushed to search for future career opportunities and college plans, as well. On the other hand, I think the reason we tend to wait to get married is largely in part because we want to avoid our parents’ mistakes. According to an info-graph done by dailyinfograph.com, the divorce rate last year was 50% (46,523 divorces per week). Why jump the gun and become another statistic? In all, we are just like every generation with our flaws, but we’re living in a new age, filled with technology and world competition. It takes a different kind of view than we’ve ever had before to take on the challenges ahead.