Fighting labels, unfortunately, stands as a struggle we all have in common. We all hate the feeling of being placed into a box, yet somehow we turn around and do the same to others. In my experience, I have had to fight to prove I am not as “quiet” as people conceive me to be. I try to project my voice through actions and writing when the volume of my actual voice strains and my ability to speak eloquently fails miserably.

I urge everyone to try a bit harder to watch out for the voice in everyone, especially if it does not obviously present itself.

Each and every one of us has a voice. Through getting to know others, we often realize that those we thought were quiet have a great deal to say. Yet time and time again, we fail to provide the benefit of the doubt to those with personalities that don’t jump off the page at first glance.

All during my time in high school, I would constantly hear of people who never made an effort to spark a conversation with me telling others I was “quiet.” It seemed to carry a negative connotation. Was I not interesting enough to get to know? Was I just the girl whose tests were easy to copy from?

Constantly, I fought against these images people created in their head about me. These images included the idea that I didn’t like interacting with others, and that if they talked to me I would fail to say anything. My friends knew the truth.

They’d often pose the question, “Does she ever stop talking?” I thrive off social interactions and getting to know new people. I do have passions. I am an avid sports fan. I am obsessed with dogs and memes. I am outdoorsy. I am a writer.

Here are a few positive aspects I've learned about being “quiet:”

I am an excellent listener. I notice the small details people share. Often, I have realized I am fairly decent at reading people because of this.

I’m good at remembering names in a decent amount of time and facts about people and places. In high school, this resulted in me performing well on tests without studying much.

I might not be the loudest person in the room but I am still a person in this room. We are all people in this room, and we all deserve to be treated as such.

Try not to let people's conceptions of you define your character. I used to hear that I was quiet, and it didn't seem positive.

As a result, I was afraid to speak up – the self-fulfilling prophecy was at work.

I became quieter. I am quiet, but I am so much more. To my pleasant surprise, since I have arrived at college, I have not been openly labeled as quiet once yet. Be it the more understanding nature of my peers, or the conscious effort on my part to put myself out there more, it calms me to know the judgment behind one single character label has not followed me everywhere.

People have some ridiculously cool stories to tell. Talk to them, speak up and realize that we are all so much more than just one thing. Give people the chance to show you the “so much more” part of them, and try to look past single word definitions of others.

If a picture is worth a thousand words, people are worth “so much more.”