"You just don't understand." "You are just a kid." "You are too young to get it."

These words my generation hears far too much. We hear this from family, friends, professors, practically anyone. Sure, we are young and we make mistakes, but everyone makes mistakes. Time and time again we are judged solely because of our age, rather than anything else. People older than us automatically assume we don't understand or categorize us as "ignorant". Others are very quick to judge. When they are addressing our generation, they use words such as "lazy", "dumb", "selfish" etc. Personally, I have heard that my generation is "the worst."

This could not be more wrong. I can speak for my generation when I say we are very insightful, eager, and unquestionably intelligent people. We are able to make decisions for our future, learn and understand new aspects of the world, and try to achieve our greatest potential.

So, please don't underestimate us. Stop judging us based off of our age. Age is just a number, isn't it? Age should not matter when determining a person. My generation has the capability to understand anything that older people can. Just because we are young, doesn't mean we don't understand. In fact, I have encountered many people my age that are much wiser than some older people I know. Estelle Getty once said "people assume that I'm wiser than I am because I'm somewhat successful. Age does not bring you wisdom, age brings you wrinkles. If you're dumb when you're young, you're going to be dumb when you're old." I could not agree more because someone's age, ultimately, has no effect on their abilities.

Now, to my fellow millennials. Do not let anyone belittle you. Don't let anyone tell you that you don't matter or you're dumb just because you are young. Stand up for yourself and the rest of our generation. Use your voice! We are smart, inspiring young people who will achieve to be nothing less than successful.