"This generation is so selfish."

"All you kids do these days is look at your phone."

"Talk about the 'me, me, me' generation!"

"Entitled!"

"Privileged!"

"Ungrateful!"

"Lazy!"

If you were born around the 90's to early 2000's, you've definitely heard these lines before, most likely directed at you (ironically, typically via social media), or toward some ambiguous and generalized poster child of the 'millennial generation,' by someone that is supposedly old enough to know better than to assume. Yet, here we are.

The diatribe that frames this generation and overall time period as the worst in which to be alive is, at best, naive, and at worst, incompetent and rude.

At this point, I could go on and on about the terrible situation in which generations before have placed us, but that is old hat. I could point out how phones are actually very useful and make the world a smaller place, but you've read that before. I could mention that you are, in fact, the generations that raised us, but you already know that.

The issue I take with this entire discussion is that the millennial generation could be described in one million ways, and every word chosen by past generations has a negative connotation. Believe it or not, we aren't that bad- pinkie promise. Honestly, if there were something about Millennials that I would use to describe us, it would be that we pay attention. As a whole, society is more open and honest, with everything from sexuality, to tragedy, to identity, than ever before, and that has everything to do with the fact that we, as millennials, think of ourselves as interconnected. That which happens globally, we take personally. We know that just because it didn't happen to us, doesn't mean it didn't happen, or that it isn't worth talking about. We are educated. We are aware. We are "woke", if you will.

So, my dear friends of Generation X, Baby Boomers, and so on, and so forth, if you really must peg us Millennials with a stereotype, feel free to draw from the following examples:

1. Occupy Wall Street

This movement began in 2011 as peaceful resistance against corporate greed and global economic inequality. As the slogan says, "We are the ninety-nine percent", suggesting that those in the top one percent of wealth will not be the deciding factor for those that do not fall within that small margin of individuals. A large majority of the individuals that pushed this movement forward were Millennials.

2. Arab Spring

Arab Spring was a series of protests and rebellions throughout the Middle East in 2011. Twitter and Facebook were heavily used by leaders within these protests, keeping the world informed of the events occurring, and as a platform by which to plan protests on the ground.

3. Black Lives Matter

This movement began in 2014 in light of the shooting of Michael Brown, an 18-year-old, unarmed African American by police officer Darren Wilson. Since then, the revolution has fought for justice regarding the deaths of all black Americans at the hands of law enforcement. They have brought to light a great deal of injustice which had previously gone unnoticed. The movement is still occurring as this article is written. A great deal of the discourse within this movement occurs on social media, such as Twitter and Facebook.

4. Third-wave Feminism

Third-wave feminism is suggested to have begun in the early 90s, and has carried on to current day. This wave has a particular focus on women of the LGBTQ+ community, as well as women of color. It has actively encouraged the abolishing of gender roles. Overall, much like the waves that came before it, the focus is to demand gender equality within an inherently patriarchal society. A large portion of the political discourse regarding this particular wave of feminism has taken place over social media, such as Twitter and Tumblr.

These movements only begin to scratch the surface of that which Millennials are capable of doing. With the use of technology, a sense of compassion, and a desire to make society better, the world is at our fingertips.

Stop beating yourselves up over the so-called "selfish" generation you raised, parents and grandparents. You have raised a group of strong, independent individuals, who are currently doing great things, and who will continue to do great things.

So please, enough with the Millennial jokes - it's getting old.