Hello all! Today we are featuring 23-year-old Aitza Burgess Reynolds. She has worked in marketing, healthcare, development, project management, and pretty much everything in between.

AM: How are you defying the millennial stereotype?

ARB: One of my favorite *eye roll* stereotypes is that my generation is lazy and unpractical. Currently, I volunteer with an organization that helps to empower poor and homeless community members through financial literacy. Since graduating from college this year, I’ve been working two jobs while laying out the groundwork for my business plan at the same time. I moved back home, not because I couldn’t live on my own, but for the simple fact that it was the most logical thing to do. Not having a ‘9 to 5’ doesn’t automatically make me lazy. It gives me more time to travel, spend time with loved ones, contribute to my community in a meaningful way, and live a near debt-free life. There is nothing really awe-worthy about my life because so many of my peers have had similar experiences. That’s the beauty of it all. We’re making this way of life a normal one.

AM: Why do you think your stereotype is so rampant?

ARB: It comes from a culture of blame and shrugging off accountability. Millennials(and even Generation Z) get a great deal of negativity because the older generations don’t want to realize how some of their actions have negatively impacted ours. The other part comes from the inability to accept generational changes. Older generations want us to suffer through the same challenges that they had to face, instead of just letting us learn from their wisdom and avoid those heartaches and challenges.

AM: What can other young people do to defy that misnomer?

ARB: They can keep working in order to better themselves. They can keep creating work that they are proud of. They can continue breaking barriers and being change-makers. History is written by victors, and who makes a better victor than the generation that is now killing the game?

AM: What do you want the public to know about millennials?

ARB: We may not have as much disposable income as our parents and grandparents did, but we will use what we have to make it easier for the generation coming after us. We aren’t selfish for not having kids or not moving out of our parent's house; we are actually making wise financial decisions that will benefit ourselves and our children. We don’t have to follow an outdated and impractical lifestyle to have success, security, and happiness.