We have all heard the conventional wisdom on Millenials -- they are overly optimistic, flighty, and entitled. They don't want to work. They have been coddled by overprotective parents. 

I spent Saturday with 50 or so members of Northwestern Student Holdings, a student group that owns and operates small businesses on campus. They had just concluded Impact Week, during which the young entrepreneurs partner with local charities to raise money.   

I think about how I spent my undergraduate years ... and running a social enterprise wasn't it. These young college students raised several thousand dollars in just a week. They were focused and engaged and inspiring. Their energy was contagious.  

If the only experience you have had with someone in their early 20's is through what you've heard from pundits, you owe it to yourself to spend an afternoon with a real live person. Will they look at their cell phone from time to time? Yes, but so will you. On the whole I bet the experience will leave you inspired and optimistic. I know it did for me.