Let me tell you a story with no happy ending. Really and truly, it has no ending at all; or, perhaps, it has already ended and we just haven’t realized it.

In 1965, The Who released a song called “My Generation.” Although the majority of the band was born just before the post-World War II baby boom, it was not unlikely that they spoke of the “Baby Boomers” in their song. The song speaks much to the disparity between the young and the old; the thoughts of counterculture and teenage rebellion; and the belief of the young that “growing up” will inevitably kill who they are inside and, thus, to stay young at heart while growing old in body.

These lyrics, of course, have proven themselves cyclical. The young grow old, and, just as the Baby Boomers resented their elders, Generation X resented the Baby Boomers, and so on. The meaning behind the words has spread and applied to every generation in its youth and, retroactively throughout history, held weight with our ancestors in their youths. And, in the same way, each generation, as a whole, would grow older, wiser, and, in some ways, more frustrated with the youth they raised.

My generation, so far, has been no exception to the cycle; I highly doubt it shall be. My generation is called Y, though I come from the end of it. I grew up where my peers have been as much Generation Y as Generation Z. I have grown up a Millennial; the turn of the century has defined my lifetime. Although I find this term accurate, I don’t like it. I feel like a name would be more appropriate for us. “The Dreaming Generation,” or perhaps “The Generation of Change.”

Personally, I prefer “The Spiteful Generation.”

It’s rather brash, I know. To call my peers spiteful. But I implore you to let me talk with you about that spite. To let me inform you. My mission is not to persuade you, or insult you, or attack you. It is not to bring you or anyone else down, nor to convince you to change the world. I’m not trying to say we are better than any generation before us, nor that they are better than us. I only want to help you understand how I feel we think.

I like the term “Generation Y,” although not all my peers are a part of it. Y, as in the question we find ourselves asking about our world.

Our lives have been built around constant change. Although the generations before us have gone through change as well—many, the same changes we have—they were not born into it. Not to quote Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises, but they were not raised in an age where we moved from telephones being mounted on walls to fitting in our pockets. They were not raised in the age where computers moved from large, heavy boxes with separate screens to being only a few pounds and folding into our backpacks. Often, in popular media, it is expressed that the older generation has trouble with technology that we do not. Although it is a stereotype, it does have some basis in truth. My generation grew up adapting to the latest and greatest technology. Moving from a mouse to a touchpad was part of our fine motor skills growing up.

But I’m not here to talk about how technology and social media has changed the way we communicate.

I’m here to talk about how change has embittered us. Our spite comes not from hatred, but contempt.

We have grown up in a world that is always connected. Where every event can be seen at any moment; where terror and fear lie around every corner. We have grown up in a world where war is always far away, but always present. Lurking around the corner, waiting to strike on us. We have grown up in a world where hatred and fear rule. Terrorism in our childhoods has brought us to a life of emphasis on security, surveillance, and secrets.

We grew up in a world where we were told that the financial safety our ancestors had put in place was falling apart; where the prosperity they enjoyed would no longer be present when we grew up. Where our best efforts may not always be enough to continue to support ourselves without having to incur financial shackles that will bind us, even though those that have come before us have warned us against those shackles. Even though they show us the dangers of debt and credit, we live in a world where sometimes we see no other choice.

We grew up in a world where we were taught that it was our civil duty to vote for public office, but where we cannot see any impact of our beliefs and attempts to sway the masses. We have grown up in a world where we are told our opinions are irrelevant because we’re too young to understand, yet we are criticized constantly for not contributing to the system. We have grown up in a world where two parties rule our government but neither are fit to govern. One claims the financial security lives in the benefit of tax breaks for corporations and the “trickle-down theory” amidst scandals like those of Enron, Arthur Andersen, and many others where these companies that are meant to boost our economy abuse it instead and reap profits for themselves while bringing down the public. Our trust has been lost in this theory of economics, but the other party works no better. They claim that to take from the rich and give to the poor will bring up society to the middle, which has its merits in morality but also brings fear to the soundness of its own perpetuation. Neither group is reliable, but my generation can find no hope in third parties or in independents.

We grew up in a world where we were taught to respect differences between people, but were shown leaders who preyed upon those differences to encourage hatred and divide us. We have been told to bring ourselves together as a community and grow into the future, but our leaders continue to teach us through their actions that “togetherness” is not achievable. We have grown up in a world where we were told that racism, sexism, and other forms of discrimination were not okay. That they were against the law and in our past; yet we still see them present in our homes, our communities, our schools, and on social media.

We have grown up with the desire to achieve and grow and move forward as a species, yet we see, everywhere we go, a no-win future. Where war and hatred destroy us. Where technology consumes us. Where finances and politics crumble around us and we cannot salvage them. Despite this, we press on, every day. Many of the new, modern inventors and entrepreneurs are members of our generation. Many of our members constantly band together to tear down the walls that divide us; to create a better world for ourselves and those that follow us.

We feel as if we have been given a burnt loaf of bread and told to make a meal for the entire world to continue to survive on, and we keep trying to, no matter what we are given. No matter how we grew up. No matter what was done in the past that restricts us.

And it is for that, that we feel we have been restricted, that we are hurt.

For that, we are spiteful.