Our generation is not as inept as some might think

You may know us by our casual acceptance and embracement of the forbidden socks-and-sandals look. Or, perhaps you have caught a glimpse of us gnawing away at the only food our fragile stomachs can bare to digest: avocado toast. More recently, you have probably heard that we have been on a killing rampage—murdering entire corporations and sacred rituals from the generation before. Yup, that’s us. Killing for sport, ruining lives, disgracing the world: millennials.

If your Twitter timeline and Facebook pages haven’t been overloaded with “millennials are killing” or “millennials are ruining” articles, then you are among the lucky ones. These lackluster pieces of writing, loaded with obvious bias, have been fueling the millennial hate fire. Somehow, it has become a trend amongst the few tech-savvy grandmas and aunt Beth’s of the world to read into this idea that anyone born in the late 1980’s to early 2000’s are to blame for a range of things that are wrong with the world. Even though some of these articles may be partially based on real data, it is difficult to believe that millennials are the root of all evil.

We have been accused of killing class. So, we might lack some manners. So what? I think I speak for everyone when I say “please” and “thank you” are enough to make the world go round. That is all we will ever need.

When it comes to killing entire industries, apparently, we have this one in the bag. Millennials aren’t as into golfing as baby boomers are, according to Business Insider. Since boomers are aging out, the game of golf is in the hands of millennials, and it isn’t looking good. But, is that even so bad? I have always thought of golf as Grandpa’s form of exercise for the week. I wouldn’t mind taking the heat for the demise of golf, a game that takes four more hours to play than any sport should.

Millennials are also killing bar soap sales, according to Moneyish.com. This one I agree is a problem; we need soap. Does someone really need to tell us that? Geez.

Here is where I start to get heated. The latest study published in the Journal of Hand Therapy shows that millennials have a worse grip than the generation that preceded. I know that there has always been an unparalleled importance attributed to the art of the hand shake. I won’t deny that. However, regardless of our handshaking abilities, millennials are still very successful.

Millennials are on track to be the most educated generation to date, according to the Pew Research Center. Cool, right? In addition to this, millennials are also more fiscally responsible: 34 percent of our age bracket is waiting to get married until financially stable. The lesson we have learned here is that the emphasis on hand shaking has become obsolete. millennials are wise and successful even without a firm grip.

Maybe we have been under such scrutiny because other generations are jealous. We have it good; we are liberated in every sense. We wear what we want, we study what we want and we have discovered that getting married early and having kids is not the only way to be live a fulfilling life. We know ourselves. We have been given the opportunity to explore who we are and hope to be. Last time I checked, the world didn’t come with any presets, default settings or manuals.

Change is good. Change is reliable. We depend on the seasons to change. We love to see new changes in fashions or trends (the jury is still out on RompHims, though I definitely approve). Millennials have all at once become the scapegoat for everything that is wrong in the world. There is power in numbers though, and our age group will not back down. We don’t mind being in the spotlight, even if it is negative. Take notes, boomers: we love attention, so bring on the memes.