When your whole life you've been categorized into a certain group, you tend to believe it and start to play that character. Recently I have been trying to break my mold and only now have I realized how much I let my labels control my life.

Dumb.

Emotionally weak.

Dramatic.

Boring.
Always playing by the rules.

Can't have fun.

These labels have been on my back since I started school and I believed them because sometimes they were partly true.

I tend to be a rule follower and make comments that many would consider being so-called "blonde moments". Does this mean that I can't earn good grades and I can't ever have fun? In high school, people assign you labels that are supposed to define who you are and who you are supposed to become. Even teachers preach labels by saying that you will end up working at McDonald's if you fail your class. I was known for being the girly girl next door who wears skirts and usually gets what she wants from her family. On the outside, I played my label to a tee and even convinced myself that this label was one hundred percent who I was. On the inside, however, I was screaming.

No one is meant to be one thing for their entire life.

Getting to college, I had the chance to change my label. I could be rebellious and edgy, or I could be extremely smart and spend my days in the library. I joined the organization Kappa Delta and started to put on the label of a sorority girl. I loved this label and thought this was who I was meant to be. As my freshman year is coming to a close, I realize that even this label has its pressure to act a certain way.

I am tired of always reaching for a label to help define me instead of defining myself with the actions I make.

I can be extremely rebellious one day and completely safe the next. I still wear skirts, yet only when I don't feel like wearing leggings. What I have come to learn is that there is no such thing as labels when you are meant to change and adjust to the world daily.

So yes, I may be dramatic at times, but because I am dramatic, I get things done and I make change happen. I may play it safe and go by the rules at points in my life, however, it is because I know that watching movies with my friends and staying in can be just as fun as going out and breaking the rules.

A label is a classifying phrase or name applied to a person or thing, especially one that is inaccurate or restrictive. Labels control our lives and when we break through our labels and define ourselves as who we truly are we realize that each day is different. We are meant to grow and adjust to what life throws at us in order to move to a better version of ourselves. Define your label, don't let a label define you.