This is a short poem I wrote in reflection of what it means to be a "millennial" to the outside world. I wanted to keep it mostly positive, because there have been so many pieces of work on the negatives about millennial -- what we are judged to be, how we act, and why we are wrong. Instead, I see my generation as something to be hopeful for. We are more tolerant, yet ambitious for what we think is right. We are tech-savvy but appreciate the authenticity of our childhood. Every generation will argue against the ones before and after them. The clashes of generations will always be there, because times are always changing. But I think that is something that deserves to be celebrated, not looked down for.

Not Your Millennial

We are the last of the neighborhood groupies

Our scooters and bikes ruled the pavement

During the summer days never indoors.

Knee scrapes, elbow scabs, and shin bruises

Worn as our badges of social statuses,

Flip phones tucked in back pockets,

Only ringtone set for Mom.

We are the young kids between TV and computer screens,

Growing up with the technology

That will raise our younger siblings

In ways we only have gotten tastes of.

The hearts in our chests beat with blood

Mixed with the past and future ways

Of the world we are just now shaping.

We are the shouts in the masses,

Welcoming the equality of marriage to our grandchildren.

What’s to come is in our reach,

But what once was is just about out of our grasp.

Monumental moments in history are so fresh to us

They aren't in our history textbooks yet.

We are the face of tomorrow that leans back

And watches the faces of yesterday

Because the parents we have stood by.

So young in name and spirit,

We point forward and say:

“Watch us fix and change and hope and dream”

Because we are not

Your

Millennial.