Years ago, back in my early school days, another passing girl spoke with conviction as she called me a hurtful name, giving me a label she thought I deserved. If I knew then what I know now, things obviously would be completely different, but it was a moment in my life that opened my eyes to what our words mean and how they can impact someone. Labels, how freely we give them away, thinking we have the authority to make those accusations and judgments, to be the dictator of what is good or evil or right or wrong or justified.

Our directing mind should have no room for such mockery, but unconsciously we make snap judgments and sometimes those hurtful thoughts come to the surface and spread like wildfire, leaving that person’s reputation tarnished and burned.

We have that power and the choice to bring hate or positivity into the world— proceed with caution when choosing hate because we are all one, and what comes around goes around.

When a person makes a decision to experiment with their sexuality at an up and coming age, does that make them less than you? When a person runs away from home at a young age, does that make them a trouble maker, unwanted, a bad influence? When a person doesn’t share the same interests as you, does that make them weird or the outcast?

Labels stick like glue and often times follow you through your years, especially through your school years. I’ve heard people use horrible names to describe others they hardly know, as if they are all-knowing and have the right to say those things.

Everyone is entitled to their own opinions, yes— but with such a short time on Earth, why use your mind, your thoughts, your voice to hurt someone else? Why use your voice to spread hate and degrade others?

Everyone was created with a unique sense, but essentially we are all the same: we have the same needs and desires, just varied in shape or form and our destinies are all unique, special, and created for each one of us. With that in mind, the kid you call a freak or an outcast or a nobody or a loser or the girl you call every hurtful name under the sun— you have no idea what they’ve endured, what they are going through, and what they are destined for.

If we had that knowledge, maybe we would be more understanding, maybe we would reach out and lend a helping hand, maybe we would take interest in what they are doing, maybe we would think twice before spewing hate into an already dying world. There is so much love in our hearts, but it’s our own insecurities and fears that make it easier to look in on another’s life instead of reflecting and trying to understand our own struggles within ourselves. With a more conscious mind and a loving heart, we can spread good and love around with acceptance and understanding.