Sharalyn Hartwell is a national journalist at Examiner.com covering all topics related to Gen Y. She kicked off a month-long series today called Gen Y Gives Thanks, a project focused on combating the negative stereotype that Gen Y is ungrateful.

Speaking of gratitude, thank you to Sharalyn for challenging the Gen Y haters and for allowing me to contribute to this project.

No one would dispute that parents want the best for their children. Boomers were noted for wanting that so much, they often over indulged their children--Gen Y. Some experts believe that indulgence played a primary role in Gen Y’s propensity for ingratitude.

But, this isn’t necessarily so. The generosity of our parents may actually teach us gratitude and humility.

Gina Valo, a 26 year-old from Ann Arbor, Mich., is the perfect example. She says she has learned immense lessons in gratitude because of the things her parents gave her.

“I do not come from a particularly wealthy or well-educated lineage, but growing up I always knew I would go to an excellent college and my parents would foot the bill. They both worked extremely hard to save for my education and except a few chores, my sole responsibility was to focus on school.

I'm embarrassed to admit this, but at the time I thought this was the norm and felt that earning straight As entitled me to a free ride to the school of my choice..."

Gina Valo is a Market Development Manager at AnnArbor.com and a regular contributor to The Deuce. You can reach her at secondfiddleblog@gmail.com or follow her on Twitter @thesecondfiddle. Read more from her blog.