Coming from the north shore (or a place like the north shore) comes with a lot of stereotypical baggage. And by that, I mean there is a very specific mold in which I am supposed to fit. What happens if I stray from that very clear cut and precise path? Will I be shunned by the bubble I grew up in? Or will differences be embraced?

To give a little bit of background: Typical stereotypes of the north shore girl include: owning certain clothing, liking certain things, being friends with certain people, having a certain amount of money, and many more definitive things. But how many people actually like and act and believe in everything their stereotype dictates? On the surface it seems like quite a few, but in reality, none.

Here is the confession from this specific north shore girl.

My childhood consisted of Harry Potter and the Hobbit as bedtime stories, Lord of the Rings and Star Wars for family movie nights, and Fox Trot comics on Sunday mornings. My adolescence comprised of shopping in the sale section of Abercrombie and Fitch and Nordstrom. My school breaks didn’t include exotic vacations; they included quality time with my grandparents hearing stories from their childhood. And my summers involved many outdoor activities at overnight camp. Hiking, canoeing and rock climbing were among my favorites. Yes, I like sushi, and I have an Iphone, and I’ve seen every episode of Gossip Girl a million times, but I also don’t own anything Lulu Lemon, I only got my Iphone right before college, and I don’t know how I’m not morbidly obese with the amount of ice cream I eat.

Yes, I like certain kinds of clothing, I’m friends with certain people, and believe in certain things, but I am my own person. I do not fit the mold that many believe me to and my friends don’t either. Everyone likes and owns certain things. That's part of what makes us who we are. It's called self expression.

Everyone hates being judged for whatever stereotype fits them, and I am no exception.

People makes snap judgements about others and that's natural, but it's the freedom of thought that allows people to defy the preconceived molds that we posses to enhance the ideas and images they have. What's the difference between judging someone for their ethnicity or their hometown? Yes, different judgements can have different degrees of insult or ignorance, however, a judgement is a judgement. And, a lack of flexibility within thought can hurt anyone no matter the degree of judgement.

I don’t like being labeled a typical north shore girl because I’m not. There is no such thing as normal; it’s a nonexistent concept that people have created in order to attempt to maintain order. But they fail to realize that real, consistent, concrete order doesn’t exist. The only constant in life is change.

So please, permit yourself to break the mental constructs you have of others, because not only are you potentially hurting others, you could be missing out on a great friend.