Millennial Perspective: Nothing's Wrong?

A millennial is defined as someone reaching young adulthood in the 21st century. But recently, a millennial is thought of a young adult who believes everyone should be accepted, college should be free, and you should follow your dreams and get a liberal arts degree, looking down on a blue collar job or aspiring for a job which can "actually pay the bills." The term millennial is thrown around as a slur and has become essentially a label for the over-opinionated, all-inclusive, "everyone gets a trophy" population in their 20’s to early 30’s.

I am a millennial; I was born in 1990 and raised with the internet and a public forum to have my opinion heard. I am well versed in social media and can reach hundreds of thousands of people with my opinion and beliefs. I am also a combat veteran Marine, I believe in hard work and that you should only get a trophy when you win. My college education is not free, I earned it with 5 years of service and gladly pay my taxes to support public service.

My issue with being a millennial is that at first glance, all that is seen is my age. I walk into the local VFW and often get the cold shoulder from other veterans who seem to forget the longest war in our nation's history was fought by millennials. Yet a 26-year-old is grouped in with the window-smashing cry babies who want the world and feel entitled to it. It is time for the OIF-OEF veterans to take our generation back. Let's no longer allow these immature entitled “adults” of our generation to sully our name; we are just as strong as our parents and grandparents. We have fought just as hard as our ancestors and previous generations to continue this great American experiment. We are the American Dream and our generation needs to take a stand. We are hard working. We are Veterans. We are millennials.