Yeah, I hear this sentiment sometimes when old relatives rant or boomer coworkers get into full force rant-mode at lunch and my mind wanders off to trying to remember what I play on watching on netflix later.

Honestly, I work in the museum sector.

I went to university for four years and then two more for my master's degree. The economy ate shit about two months after I started university and it hadn't fully recovered by the time I graduate four years later in 2011. I did six unpaid internships, three minimum wage co-ops/YCWs, and countless other volunteer projects. My classmates were no different - we busted ass what felt like 24/7. I balanced thesis projects with work study positions, a full course load, and volunteering because I needed to network, build the right resume, diversify my skills, and get the education required for the most basic, entry-level jobs.

When I got a job offer it was nearly a year after graduation and I had to move to a whole new province in eight days - to a city I knew virtually nobody in. I work on contracts with very few benefits - no paid time off, no health, no sick days. I also make a less money than I would have had I pursued other career choices - I was a great well-rounded student and could have followed any number of career paths and I chose museums. And I'm actually happy to do it. Classmates of mine still haven't found positions. I know I'm fortunate. I had the right experience at the right time and the right person saw that resume cross their desk.

My work has huge deadlines coming up this summer and staff have complained they can't find time between the deadlines to take their six weeks of vacation. I empathize but I do find it a little funny because I get three vacation days this summer - all of which are stat holidays during which the building is physically closed.

I do it all because the job makes me happy. And because I want this. I want this to work - I want this to be my career. And I'm willing to make the sacrifices necessary. But you'll have to excuse me if I don't want to be derided as belonging to a lazy, entitled generation when all I've ever been surrounded by are the most creative, passionate, hard-working people who've had to struggle to get a foothold into careers during a huge economic downturn. My boss - set to retire this year - told me she didn't envy us (my 20-something coworker) because she'd never once worked a single unpaid day in her entire life. She didn't require the advanced degrees we did. They're hiring people today with PhDs for jobs that bachelors degrees were hired for when she started working in museums four decades ago.

So yes. I'm a millenial. I grew up in a generation counselled by educators and parents to follow our fucking snowflake dreams, only to be rounded upon as adults for following that exact path when the world economy shit the bed in 2008.

You know what the best parts about millennials are? We're resilient and we're empathetic. We took one to the chin and we still care about things - the environment, education, public service, how to use technology to make lives better, gay rights, public transit, pipelines, police brutality, whatever. We still want to leave this place better than how we found it. And that's something fucking special.