Millennial Generation’s 7 defining moments [Pictures]

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More than anything, this single-handedly shaped our well-being. Beginning in late 2007 and hitting us hard throughout 2008, we're limited financially, encountered rising unemployment and became depressed about our futures. Would we be able to find secure jobs after college -- or any jobs at all? Would we be able to pay for housing, food, cars, cell phones? Would we have to move back home with mom and dad or ever save anything for retirement. Things have slowly eased up a bit, but we're scared. No wonder the Occupy movement resonated with so many of us.

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Millennials had never had a "I remember where I was when ..." moment. Then, in an instant, we did. Many of us were in high school or college when the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks shocked America. We remember where we were when he heard that the first World Trade Center tower was struck, and we remember where we were when we saw the second hit. Together, we watched them come down, saw the images of the fractured Pentagon and heard the brave stories of United 93. Nothing like this had happened during our lifetimes -- and happened so abruptly and painfully. For us, the carefree 1990s were over, and we all headed into an uncertain future. The only thing that was certain to Millennials is that this was now a very different America than the one in which we had been raised.

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The music-sharing service may have lasted two short years (June 1999- July 2001), but those years not only let us fill our music library until it bulged at the seams but changed the way we felt about paying for, well, everything. Somewhere along the way, as 25 million of us downloaded and downloaded, we became a generation that eventually got used to getting media for free -- suddenly paying for songs or albums felt like something our parents did ... suckers! Deep down we knew it was wrong, but who was it hurting? Of course, the Recording Industry Association of America begged to differ.

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For many Millennials, it had been a long time coming. We were the first generation that encountered a large number of out fellow high-schoolers and college classmates. Some Millennials don't remember a time when there wasn't a gay person on TV. So when Massachusetts passed same-sex marriage on May 17, 2004, many of us recognized it as historic but at the same time considered it not a big deal. It was OK -- great even -- to many young people. Reflective of the Millennial mentality of this issue: An NBC sitcom this fall will feature a woman becoming a surrogate so a gay couple can start a family. It's called "The New Normal," but to many of us, it has always just been "normal."

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Or when everyone's business willingly became everyone's business. Setting up shop in February 2004 and at first accessible only by college students, Facebook has quickly become a part of everyone's lives. And our lives have become our digital lives, and vice versa. Millennials now have the compulsion to post their thoughts about everything -- from the weather to politics to sports to hairstyles -- and demand that people "like" it.

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Millennials aren't as cynical about government as many believe us to be. We believe in bipartisanship and are frustrated, like most, with the incessant bickering and stalemate on Capitol Hill. We want someone we can trust, who will work hard for us. But also someone who thinks different. Maybe that's why the majority of young people voted for Obama on Nov. 4, 2008 (voters ages 18 to 29 preferred Obama to John McCain by 68 percent to 30 percent, according to most sources). Change, and all that. His youthfulness and spirit, too. But many of his policies -- from the economy to gay rights to health care -- spoke to us. However, we're not complacent. His re-election is far from a slam-dunk and many of those young voters in 2008 aren't fully on his side again. Still, he'll forever be the first "youth president" since John F. Kennedy.