I hate labels. I hate the idea that you can only be one type of person and that no matter what you do, you will put into a specific category. That being said, not every college is like my small liberal arts school in the middle of Iowa. We are a school full of diverse people, but unfortunately, we are ones to label each other. So I am going to label my peers to further explain the frustration in which comes along with these so called “identities.”

The Athlete

*Not necessarily a basketball player* The athlete is the most macho of men, the man women strive to have and the name the whole school recognizes. He is the quintessential athlete whose team depends on when organizing during stressful times. He dates the most beautiful woman and any girl who grabs his attention feels like a million bucks. Unfortunately for the athlete, he is unable to break out of this shell and will forever be known as just an athlete. Talk about coming up short.

The Class Queen

She is the princess, the most noted female on campus, who is essentially perfect. Her aura is always positive and she is never seen without a proper smile to her constituents to show them who runs the school. She is not mean and instead thrives on people knowing her name and feeling comfortable talking to her. You’ll never see her at a party, and view her as the Taylor Swift of campus. Sadly for Queen G, her crown will need to be passed down to a new Queen once she leaves, but will always have that memory of wearing her crown.

The All-American

He plays sports, he runs for school positions and is liked by everyone across the board. The difference between the athlete and all-American is that while the athlete is one dimensional, all-American is 3D. He is blessed by coaches and honored by professors while being lusted after by nearly all of the females at school. He is the prom king of the school, which somehow is still cool in college. He will always be cemented in the minds of his peers in college, but no one will ever view him in any other way, no matter how hard he tries. The jersey he proudly wears will be tattooed in everyone’s mind for as long as he is at school.

The Party Girl

She is the one everyone hears about on the weekends. She is seen on campus as a smart individual, but she is looked at on the weekends in another lens. She is always down for a good time and often forgets the weekend's activities. Though many talk about her, at least, they are talking about her, for high school was an event where no one knew her name. So college is her makeup for that, but she won’t let it affect her grades. Sadly, for her, the faculty know about her weekend activities and will not let her represent their school in any way. They will find scapegoats for her to blame their decisions on, but when it is boiled down, they just see her as a party girl, not capable of anything else but putting down a cold one.

The Pothead

He is by far the nicest guy on campus. Relatable and kind, he smokes more than a chimney but don’t worry because it’s all natural. He can be seen with a Phish shirt on and a drug rug when it’s cold, but he never misses out on a chance to “take it easy.” Many wonder if he will ever stop smoking, but to no one else’s knowledge, he has his future all set up. His tubular thoughts have actually paid off and will prove to everyone he is not just a “pothead.” This may happen in the future, but as of right now, he is just the expert in the best type of Mary Jane to get for the weekend festivities.

So yes, I just contradicted myself by labeling my peers. Though I may have called a few people out, it is only to show the type of high school crap that a college is making their peers go through. Why can’t the Athlete actually be the Class Queen and how come the Party Girl can’t be the All-American? Why do labels matter when we are in a time that our self-concept has not even touched the surface of being developed? I can’t answer that question as of now, but I hope that through this article people stop to consider how they are labeling one another and why they are doing so. A label is a barrier to tell others what they can and cannot do. It is our job to eliminate these barriers to allow for one another to explore who they are in a safe and non-judgemental environment. The liability in labels is that we hinder our opportunity to grow and become stagnant in a “high school” state of mind.