Millennials have a bad reputation. We often see people of older generations shaking their heads at us or hear them cursing at the label they assigned to us, but why?

Millennials are nicknamed "Generation Me" and often are associated with laziness, narcissism, and delusion. We are said to have placed more value on extrinsic values like fame, money and image than intrinsic values like self-acceptance, community, and group affiliation. We have even been accused of not caring about minority groups or political issues (as if!).

Nobody besides millennials seem to recognize our good traits such as our ability to quickly learn technological advances, creativity, leadership ability, motivation to do well, helpful mindset, self awareness, adaptability, resourcefulness, and our refusal to accept the status quo (to name a few). We want to learn; we want to be intellectually engaged; we want to help others. We have done so much and worked incredibly hard to help many different groups of people; yet, we are still labeled as the generation that only cares for ourselves.

I recently heard a quote about millennials that really touched me that says, "A true millennial is a man or woman whom God trusted enough to send to earth during the most compelling dispensation in the history of this world." In other words, God sent us to the world during this time for a reason. We are the only generation that is equipped with the right traits to deal with the current state that our world is in. The world needs innovative, helpful, and motivated leaders; millennials can get the job done.

God made the members of my generation motivated, adaptable, and intellectually engaged because He knew of the horrors that the world would soon face and He needed to equip the world with his strongest soldiers. God sent millennials to the world during this time of political absurdity, racial inequality, religious warfare, and social injustice so that we could fight it.

I'm not ashamed to be a millennial. I refuse to allow members of generations previous to mine to shame me for being born during this time.

I am a proud millennial because God has sent me to live during this time for a reason.