I can’t stand it when other people call my generation entitled.

The word entitled is such a filthy word to me, especially because I personally don’t find it applies to me.

My biggest pet peeve in life is to be grouped into a group of people based on similar traits, characteristics or because of my demographic.

The fundraising platform GoFundMe is a great way for individuals to bring awareness to their cause, often times to help those in need or even complete strangers with financing for medical hardships, unexpected deaths, etc.

Real, true causes for people who need it. Life happens and not everyone can be prepared for it financially.

My heart breaks every time I see a donations page for a family struck by tragedy, whether it be from the recent storms, the loss of a loved one from cancer or other medical injustice, or a bizarre or freak accident that took the life of someone unexpectedly.

Unfortunately, as the saying goes, one person can ruin a good thing for everybody, and is exactly what has happened with GoFundMe.

My peer group thinks it’s okay to use the fundraising platform to afford a lifestyle or trips that they can not afford, but have no problem asking friends, family and strangers for money for it, because they don’t know any better.

As the times continue to progress and more and more people take to the platform, the novelty of the website will become obsolete like most things, and those most in need may be second guessed.

It may be because I grew up in a home where my parents taught me the importance of work ethic, because I’ve had a job since I was 14, or because I know that it’s pitiful to ask people to pay for things that I shouldn’t have/do without working for it.

Let’s take for instance Rachel.

She wants to go to Bali because she enjoyed traveling while her parents were often deployed around the world.

She says she’s a poet, artist, etc. and wants people to fund her trip to Bali because she didn’t work hard enough to save up the money before her trip.

I take great insult to this idea because it insults the American Dream and the American work ethic.

I haven’t taken a TRUE vacation in close to two years, oftentimes because I had changed jobs but also because doing so would be detrimental to my savings account and my goals towards financial success.

Every last “luxury” I have wanted, I have worked for because that is what you are supposed to do, not beg for it on the Internet in hopes random strangers will donate to your cause.

I’m all for people following their dreams, but I also believe in having to compromise during other times in order to truly pursue your interests.

This generation has become so obsessed with finding themselves and “living their dreams” that they’ve forgotten about those who came before them who worked their entire lives to afford them the lifestyles they’ve grown accustomed to.

How about Jason? Instead of saving up the funds like a normal human being from his various odd jobs he has listed, he has taken to the Internet in hopes people will pity him and give him money because that is the new norm.

There is also Tom who asked his friends, family and the Internet community to fund his trip to Vietnam.

He didn’t even bother to mention whether he was working towards his goal to help get him to his destination on his “humanitarian” trip, instead hoping and spamming his friends and family begging them for money for his irresponsible decision to take a trip he could not afford.

I think it’s absolutely disgusting that people have the audacity to go online and ask people for money for things they cannot afford without thinking about how it may be perceived.

There are hard-working Americans out in the workforce who don’t have the luxury of picking up and going on a trip, who can’t afford their rent or to eat a decent meal because of their situation, but they don’t all take to GoFundMe asking people to fund their lives.

Since when did the citizens of this country become so dependent on others instead of creating and reinforcing their work ethic?

So please, next time you think about asking people for money, think twice about and the insensitivity that comes along with it.

RISE NEWS is a grassroots journalism news organization that is working to change the way young people become informed and engaged in the world. You can write for us.

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