At birth you are given a label. You get a name which is not your choice, you are claimed to be African-American, Caucasian, Hispanic, or Asian, and you are told if you are a female or male and are wrapped in a swad of pink or blue cloth from the definition. As you grow up you are given more labels. You are the shy type, you’re a tom boy, you’re this, you’re that. We are given all of these labels and when we claim them, we are supposed to embrace them and follow them accordingly so we may fit into our designated box. And on the inside, we struggle. We become conflicted with what we want and who we want to be. I’m here to tell you that you don’t need to have the identity crisis.

It has come to be a common thing in our society to grow comfortable with labels. It makes it easier to describe to people our likes and dislike, it also makes it easier for us to categorize a group of people into a description so that we can understand the things we are afraid to. I can understand that it is comforting for people to have their label. I, myself, grew comfortable with labels. I would categorize myself as a tom-boy who sometimes likes to play dress up, who is bisexual but mostly dates men, who is a conservative but has some liberal points of views… are you exhausted yet? And this is exactly my point.

Labels create a vulnerability around ourselves to be judged for a name which cannot represent us for everything we are. We are complicated beings who are constantly changing. Just be. Drop the labels and see how much more free you will feel. You will find that the less you label yourself, people will try to put labels on you, whether they be good or bad, because they are trying to understand what they are afraid to understand. It can be scary to delve into the deepest parts of who we are and try to understand. And the less you label yourself, the less you will label others and see them for exactly who they are… and that is truly revitalizing.

… just be.

You can also see this blog and more on my personal website: https://coffeechatweb.wordpress.com/2017/01/02/why...