I remember it like it was yesterday. My boyfriend was dropping me off at work for a home decor retailer in North Texas at 6:30 AM to unload a freight truck of merchandise. Let me preface this with I had graduated with honors and a bachelor’s degree in interior design over a year prior. Now, here I was working retail and what felt like endless hours just to stay afloat.

After numerous months of filling out applications, taking personality tests, and attending interviews for entry-level positions, the offer finally came. I got the email from a commercial interior design firm in Dallas. It was an offer letter that gave me an “in” to the industry that I had so badly desired to be a part of. Truth be told, I had no idea what the industry would entail or had in store for me. All I knew is that my degree plan told me that this was the route I needed to take. The promise of a whopping $36,000 a year with the perk of benefits enticed me into a position that I thought would be the beginning of the rest of my life. Through the years, I learned a skill set that I was good at and even enjoyed. With a solid foundation built, I began to have ideas of how I could better the firm, design industry, and work environment.

Fast forward 4 years later, today is the day I turned in my resignation to the firm that gave me this very opportunity. Why you might ask? Now that is a question of complexity. I would love to say that this firm was subpar or treated me unjustly or worse, that I was never given a raise or promotion. However, this would be false. Facts are, I was given six promotions and 20K worth of raises in four years. As I sit here today and reflect on why I was so malcontent, I can only come up with the following:

It does not matter how many title upgrades I was given, how many people were placed under my mentorship, or how many raises I was given. Beneath it all, I could not bury the fact that my dedicated team was building out tenant spaces and building improvement projects under an immense amount of pressure and stress that in no way benefited humankind. This made me question the big picture of what we were really working for. I knew within a few short years the projects that we poured our heart into, would be torn down and renovated by the next project manager in my position.

As the firm grew more successful, the workload became unmanageable and so did the team. I knew that each project we completed for a middleman gave them a sizable commission. A large return that at times required them to do as little as lift a finger to sign a contract.

I became knowledgeable about the construction side of the business as well. I learned to analyze construction bids where I found skewed and dishonest quotes for materials, often without any way to prove the unjust numbers. On many occasions, completed projects would go unpaid because there was no way to collect for our intangible services rendered without severing industry relationships or worse being overlooked for future projects.

This doesn’t begin to cover the feelings I had toward the negative impressions being made on newly graduated individuals that began their malleable careers under me. My firm struggled desperately with employee retention, despite our efforts. Millennial and Generation Z professionals were hired under the false idealization that a swanky office and free food in the break room would be enough to keep them content. It was made apparent that the new talent didn’t have a filter nor will they take no for an answer when their ideas were ignored and not given a chance to be heard. Leadership was heard saying “these newcomers need to shut up and do their job.” Although I realize it can be difficult to take yourself out of the immediate bottlenecks calling attention, closed-minded thinking like this will not foster growth, but in lieu, will prohibit any kind of movement in our industry.

With that being said, I would like to interject and give gratitude to the firm and a group of mentors for my first career opportunity and experience. Thank you to the outstanding advisors that lead by example and illustrated what it takes and looks like to be a true role model for women in the workplace, you know who you are. I was compensated in more ways than just monetary value. In addition to an invaluable set of real-world skills that the education system fails to educate us on, I was put into situations that forced me to reflect on myself, the industry, and learn the critical thinking required to advance in this era.

As a result of my resignation, I currently find myself in a weird state displacement. This is the first time in 13 years I have left a position without another source of income lined up. See, I was raised with very little hard rules yet my parents instilled in me a strong work ethic and will to succeed by being unapologetic and forthcoming about their own hardships. For this, I am forever grateful. As the youngest of three, I deal with authority better than most millennials, as I have learned from my sibling’s tribulations that there are benefits to listening to those wiser than myself. They walked the path millennials are on not too long ago.

Throughout my adolescence and young adult career, I often scoffed at the word millennial and found the expression that defines my generation offensive when it was used to outline any part of my character. I felt this way due to the negative connotation and attributes that are highlighted in the workforce by older generations. A generation of baby boomer parents who allowed millennials to overindulge in the finer things in life that they had been deprived of. They handed their millennial children all the necessities required to be successful adults. Yet, working alongside my elders taught me that the success of our generation will only be achieved if we can approach this generational obstacle together. I for one ask that our former generations stop giving us free passes for failures, rewarding children for mere participation and foremost, stop sugarcoating harsh realities. Hiding the world’s imperfections will surely hinder us all.

Fast forward to today, my outlook on the adjective millennial has changed. I am proud to be described as a millennial. I choose to define this not only as someone who was born in the 80s or 90s, but as someone who is related to this millennium. Truth is, we can find negative traits in each generation, one is not better than the other, but a product of the previous. It is up to society to find the positive in each. It is up to us to learn from the past and work together to better the next generation.

My eyes have been opened to the truth, that society has a lot of work to do in order to better every aspect of our future. Work is required to become transparent, trustworthy, and accountable. In this world where we can only trust ourselves, let’s explore the new technology that allows recorded data to gain trust among generations. The Blockchain introduces a solution for distrust and holds all parties accountable by permanently recording our work, documents, and intellectual property. We need not fear technology, but make an effort to educate and develop this new realm. It is a gift that provides hope in our time of need.

Let us all, baby boomers, Generation X, millennials, and Generation Z work together on a transparent system to better humanity. Most importantly, let’s learn to respect one another regardless of title, status, or achievements. I argue that the fortunate have more to learn from the less fortunate. Remember, it is often those who have hit rock bottom that has the courage to change this world, as they have nothing of materialistic value to lose. Only a story of injustice with legitimate solutions to the problems many of us will never have to endure.

I end my story with advice to my fellow millennials, let’s leave this world better than we entered it. Stop the hate and violence and choose kindness, despite race, age, gender, political status, and personal views. Look beyond yourself, you might just realize there is a magnificent world out there that is now our responsibility to protect. Believe that most people are good. Above all, be confident of what you are capable of bringing to the table. Prove that our generation of dreamers can create a better reality. Be opinionated, be unique, be innovative, and do not conform. Let your freak flag fly.

I leave you with the words of Rob Siltanen, “Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.”