Taylor Hembree
@GCSUnade

Our generation gets a lot of flack for being selfish, unmotivated, uncommitted and basically any ‘un-’ adjective that you can think of.

A lot of stigma comes with saying you’re a part of the current population that will eventually be the leaders of the world. Criticism for creating a worse world, criticism for creating a lazy world, criticism for creating a world where injustice flies around daily is what we have been charged with.

Our generation deserves a chance to take a stand on the position that we, for sure, are not as bad as we are made out to be.

Yes, our generation would probably live tweet, post on Facebook, Instagram and any social media site about political rallies, the apocalypse, a first date, the death of a loved one and any other important event in our lives. But, when that is considered a bad thing, with using your air quotes around the “teenager way” of finding out information, consider the fact that we ARE in fact consuming, disseminating and producing news.

Sure, what we had for breakfast may not be considered news, but we are constantly staying up to date with people, places and things that we care about, even if it is through our smart phones.

As citizens of the world, our generation has been plagued with the duty to finish what our forefathers started and to document the end of the dying world, as we know it, in the absolute best way we know how — through social media platforms.

Our generation seems to be so open-minded about any issue that other generations see in black and white. We are open to discussions in the grey area. Our generation is really good at seeing fifty shades of grey in any situation. We look for the positive; we strive to make ourselves happy, often whilst trying to make someone else happy, too.

Expressing feelings of love, hatred, sorrow and grief comes easy to this generation. Whether we hold it in, shout it from the rooftops or write it on our personal journals, we all feel very deeply. We each feel a deep connection with humanity and we prove that through empathy, sympathy, the fight for human rights and the acknowledgement that others do exist;

that we can see that we, despite popular belief, are in fact not the only humans on Earth.

We no longer accept the fact that “boys will be boys” and “girls will be girls.” We don’t gender stereotype. In fact, we fight against what each gender is “supposed” to be. We fight against the stereotypical norm in every way possible.

Every day, there’s another Facebook post about what 20-somethings should remember, what 20-somethings should be doing with our futures, what 20-somethings should make happen before they graduate and so on.

We’re guided not only by our peers and our family, but also by Buzzfeed articles, Tumblr posts, TV commercials and magazines. Most may say this weakens our generation, but we use it to our advantage to share, like and comment on posts that are meaningful.

We have become more personable, relatable and accessible.

Women from our generation fight for the right not to be Photoshopped in popular magazines. Men fight against domestic violence in sports. We vote in elections more than ever, we have a political stance and aren’t afraid to speak our minds. We have fun, we are optimistic, we care about issues bigger than ourselves — we want to change the world.

The fact that we are the future leaders of the world is just as scary to us as it is to you.

Have some faith, we understand what we are getting ourselves into and if we don’t, then we will figure it out. We will take care of the world; we will take care of what you have left us.

Hey, the racially charged shootings, the presidential races, the injustices of third world countries, Kid President, hilarious memes and uplifting articles were all placed as importance on social media sites. We know how to spread news (important news) and we know how to make news.

Leave it to us, our generation’s got it.