This is me being the self-proclaimed “defender of our generation”. You may laugh at this, you may judge me for this, but I judge you back. Someone has to say it: the youth of today are being taken for granted. Someone somewhere out there right now is giving a speech about how the youth of today is focused on clubbing instead of studying, how we’re always on our phones all day, or even how lazy we are.

I absolutely hate it, with every fibre of my being, when the generation of yesteryear paints our youth as lazy, incompetent, good-for-nothing slackers. It’s no longer fun anymore, hearing statements like “Youth are the future,” when there’s a lack of faith in us. It seriously irks me.

Has the old generation even seen what we’ve been doing? We work our butts off trying to change the course of this country, despite the rampant crime, the crazy number of fellow youth being unemployed, and the economy…it’s tough out there, and unfortunately people either blame us for the problems we’re facing, or they don’t give us credit for trying to fix things, forgetting that most of them contributed to the problem.

Shameful. Just shameful.

Okay, maybe I’m being a bit biased, and it’s probably because I’ve spent time surrounded by youth who have achieved great things, some even more than I have, but you have to admit, we do our fair share of duties to this country, if not more. I’ve even written short articles on these remarkable and talented souls, and believe me, I am thoroughly impressed by their tenacity. I mean, if you were me, and you heard personal youth stories about how someone started an organization to help future artists and models enter the world of the entertainment industry, after experiencing tragedy after tragedy and a legacy of gatekeeping from those who have been in the industry for way longer, wouldn’t you applaud that?

Or if a young person built a coding and software company from scratch, and has made it into a success, wouldn’t you be proud to say, “that’s our generation!”?

This is us, guys! This is us! The odds are against us, but we keep on fighting. Yes, our predecessors did some cool, badass stuff in their time, but guess? We’re doing it too! And I think it’s time we at least get some recognition for it instead of being painted by the same negative brush.

To all youth out there, keep pushing, keep going. You’ve stumbled and fallen do many times, and each time you rise up with a new hope. An infectious hope that spreads to the other youngins. Always strive for the glory you so rightfully deserve!

And to the old generation, we all have our faults, we’re human after all. Those faults don’t define us. Cut us some slack. We’re trying hard. The least you can do is notice and trumpet our good works.