Hi. My name is Monica Kastilani. I'm 18 years old and I am a new college student. I am messy, accident prone, and introverted. At the same time, I am also adventurous, dedicated, compassionate, friendly, and socially aware. I'm a music lover and I absolutely love small animals (baby squirrels to be specific). I enjoy reading and learning about different people’s cultures and heritage. I consider myself to be lucky. I have great friends, family and now I’m attending college, something I’ve always been excited about. I’m also a part of this millennial generation.

Often in the past, I’ve heard criticisms of today’s millennials, never taking us seriously. Jokes on them, however, because this generation is changing the world. We are all scientists, artists, engineers, business owners, and political figures and pop culture figures that shape the way our society shifts and adheres to different values and ideals. Today, so much has changed, socially, politically, economically, and technologically. We see how people communicate now. How we listen to others. We see how the youth’s perspectives are evolving into more complicated discussions. I think this is a pretty great thing. In our culture, there is always a generation that sets apart from the past previous history. The demographics of this age range are wide- from the people born in the years between 1978 and 1995. These people are children of the Baby Boomers, the demographic of people post WWII, who were characterized as the wealthiest and most physically fit generation era. Now, I have researched many sites to try to find out what definitive characteristics were associated with my generation, yet I couldn’t find one answer. There is no such particular label that defines this modern era. Millennials, or the Generation Y, have several unique qualities among them. Millennials are technology experts, optimistic, independent, goal orientated, life-style centered, educators, talkative, diverse, and the list goes on. What makes us so special is the fact that we are inclusive and open to change. We want to make the world smarter, faster, and peaceable. Millennials have now surpassed the older generations and have become the largest generation in the American work force. Adults between the ages of 18-34 now make up one in three American workers.

As I said before, millennials are can serve many different roles in the work force. It is believed that education is the key to solving problems and getting the answers we need. However, education alone is not going to work without the drive or passion. In a study I read, an interviewer talked to some millennials in the work force and he has said that a majority of them were doing work that truly made them happy. There is a heavy emphasis in society that has been going on for decades. You are expected to be in a profession that earns you a good living. You are expected to get excellent grades and ace tests. It is that thinking that makes people live life unhappy. In the article, the writers wrote that the younger generation is more open to different lifestyles. When are more open- minded, you are more successful. If you are leading a career that does not satisfy you, it is useless. However, if you enjoy your job and do your job with a hundred and ten percent, that is definitely more valuable. When you find something you are passionate about, it makes you want to do try your best and you will be success. Being successful can mean many different definitions to different people. Your personal best may be different from another’s best. We are all different. We have different goals, ambitions, and ideas, yet we are all the same. We want to grow as people, to expand our minds beyond our mental capabilities. We want to learn from our mistakes so we can understand what we did wrong. We just want to be happy. And, that’s enough.