I remember watching Mean Girls as a kid and seeing all of the cliques and labels everyone was given. I thought high school would be just like that. It seemed to me that everyone had a certain place they belonged, and everyone knew it. Everyone would hang out with the other people exactly like them.

When I got into middle school and high school, I realized I was pretty wrong. I actually expected to walk in on the first day and be able to identify every group by their appearance. Now don't get me wrong, there are still cliques, they just don't look like we thought they would.

The labels almost don't even work anymore. The "jocks" play sports obviously, but some of them are great artists too. Some play in band, and some are in student government. So now you have a "Jock" that also fits into so many other categories. I know a lot of cheerleaders that make straight A's and a lot of "geeks" who are struggling with C's. I know people who wrestle and manage four AP classes. I know people who commit all their time to school work, but can't quite make that perfect mark. Some of the smartest people don't even care and the ones that struggle are trying their hardest.

Funny enough, there are people who actually try and label themselves. There is a group of people that are probably as close to the popular/plastics that it will get. It almost makes me laugh how serious they have to be. I mean they get along with lots of people and they're smart so I can't say they are replicas, but they try so hard to fit the mold of popular that there isn't much to their personalities. I see people doing that for lots of different labels, it's like they don't see the beauty in being so totally unique that there isn't even a word to describe it.

For instance, Some people would remember me as a volleyball player or a cheerleader. Some remember I'm the kid from Germany (even though I'm not). And there, I would be labeled American. Now many people would say I'm an artist or a fashion designer.

Are all of these right? Yes, but you can't say one without the other. Yes, I like to draw, but I don't do that 24/7. We are what makes all of the things that make us up collectively throughout our lives. Sometimes, not always, labeling takes away from the uniqueness that makes us who we are.

I'm sure that you'll find many other things about people that contradict your previous conclusions. When your first instinct is to slap a label on someone, you limit them in your eyes. Before you jump to a label. take a minute to really understand who your looking at and remember to embrace your own uniqueness as well as the individuality of everyone around you.