It sickens me that a majority of my generation is so lame, and by lame I mean they express an unwillingness to do almost anything. Instead of having a strong work ethic, they are, instead, developing a sense of entitlement. They don’t want to work for anything, and when problems arise they complain about their circumstances that they refused to change. The prime example: school.

Sunday nights are the common time for complaints. Pictures of angry and desolate-looking animals appear on various social network sites with the caption, “This is how I feel about school.” I’m not condemning anyone for not being thrilled about waking up early, but I am imploring, begging, and pleading with everyone to please quit complaining!

I have zero sympathy for my disgruntled peers, because if they really hate school that much, they can explore an alternative option rather than dragging other people down with their cloud of negativity.

Remember, nobody has to go to school. The legal drop-out age is 16 years old, sophomore year. So if attending school is that much of a challenge, I’m sure one could get his/her parents on board. Another option that can be used at any age is being home schooled or attending a charter school, one with a different method of teaching. If any of these sound like “doing the most” and you’d rather not bother, then you are CHOOSING to stay in school and, since you are, please stop acting like you are forced.

Now that we’ve (hopefully) tackled the school issue, there’s another issue that annoys me: free time. “There’s nothing to do here!” is a common complaint I hear. Even though I, myself, am guilty of this complaint on almost a weekly basis, I know I shouldn’t be, because it is my fault. My town, or anyone’s town, does not owe him/her anything. A judge in New Zealand who often deals with young people, John Tapene, says the following when a defendant protests that there is nothing to do: “Go home, mow the lawn, wash the windows, learn to cook, build a raft, get a job, visit the sick, study your lessons and, after you’ve finished, read a book.”

Few people my age are blessed to live in a metropolitan area with so much around them in terms of history, politics, nature and cities. Just a drive down the road is Bethesda, downtown Silver Spring, DC, Georgetown, Baltimore and more. What my generation must do is stop being “bored” and, when we think we are “bored,” we should do something other than giving group rates on Instagram. Reading, learning a new recipe, having a meaningful conversation or just observing nature are all more enthralling, beneficial and meaningful activities than staring at a screen.

So, next time you wake up and begin your endless complaints, go home and immediately change into your sweats and prepare to binge-watch a show on Netflix and realize the entire capacity of your other options. You can do more, but you’re choosing not to, so please do not complain.