It is suffocating, constricting even, when no one sees you for you. Rather, they see what you can offer; what you can bring to the table—what you can show. Appearance versus reality has become an ongoing battle. Superficiality has become a norm, where child-like honesty has been replaced with empty compliments and false praise. People have begun to perceive others in a black-or-white perspective, neglecting the gray zone that so many of us identify with. Categorizations have placed individuals in a sealed box, where stepping outside of the norm causes fear. Fear of heights and spiders has quickly been replaced with fear of self.
Since when did our culture reach this point where so many of us have become afraid of embracing our quirks and flaws? Why does a sense of acceptance come from being one with the crowd rather than from within it? Although it may be easy to point fingers at society, we have to remember we are what makes up society. We have created expectations such as a size zero body, blemish-free face, straight-A student and multi-sport athlete to be the ideal. Anything short of this is considered to be not enough. Our sense of self has been skewed by the labels that we allow others to give us. A label only carries worth if we place value on it. The more we attempt to live up to expectations, the more the label consumes us and replaces the unique persona that we all possess. The captain of the cheerleading team can also be president of student council. A band member can be interested in fashion designing. The three-sport athlete can be a bookworm.
Humans are, in fact, three-dimensional figures in the most literal sense. So, why have we as a society deconstructed our 3-D selves into one, narrow-minded perspective? The answer is simple, we like to label anything that may be different from ourselves. We find a sense of comfort in categorizing and simplifying, so much so that we forget to grasp the true essence of a person. Labels have quickly transformed from branding simple objects, such as soup cans, to trademarking actual individuals.
There are 7.125 billion people in the world. Someone is bound to be smarter, prettier or even more talented than you. Individuals will even judge you on the clothes you wear and the status you hold, while others will attempt to know your deepest secrets and happiest experiences. You will be more inclined to appreciate the latter individuals than the former, merely because you have experienced what each relationship has to offer. The point being, appreciating the good comes with experiencing the bad. In the same way, enjoying the pinnacle of success comes with overcoming the labels, constraints and doubts. Using stereotypes as fuel rather than a road bump leads to far greater opportunities and experiences. The driver (you) is in control. You have the choice to take any road or to remain stagnant in the traffic, which can be illustrated by the labels that people will throw your way.
You may not feel enough, but you have the choice to say "enough"—enough with these constraining labels, because the world is so much more than black and white. Embrace the gray, as it is far better to allow the labels to motivate you, rather than let them define you. After all, labels were meant for soup cans, and we are far more valuable than a cylindrical structure of metal.
