I'm a girl, a daughter, a sister, a student, a believer, a hopeless romantic, a mama's girl, and so much more... There are moments when people only see me as one of those things and nothing else. You look at me, and because of basic human nature and the world we live in, you are pre-disposed to certain stereotypes. You place me into a category, whether you realize it or not. It's not your fault. It's just how we are raised. We are raised to categorize everything. By shapes, colors, size, sense, gender, sex, race, sexual orientation, religion, etc... We live in a world of categories. But, what I need you to understand, is that I am not defined by these labels. I am not a category.
And I need you to understand, that neither are you.
We live in a world where, when we walk down the sidewalk, our minds unconsciously place someone into a category. We label a person and don't even know we've done it. These categories, these labels are what separate us. They are the things that insight disagreements. Then, those disagreements turn into heated disputes. Then, those heated disputes force people into choosing sides. Then, choosing sides turns into fights. Then, those fights turn into violent battles, and before anyone can stop themselves, those battles become the wars that our parents fought, which are now the wars that we fight. And unless we come together, as one people, as one united front, they will be the wars that our children, and our children's children, will fight long after we are gone. What I need you to understand is that we have the ability to make a change. Right now.
Our generation of people is the generation that brought social media to the forefront of society. We tweet, and Facebook, and pin, and gram, and "slide into the DM's," not realizing the impact we have on the next generation. Our words and our actions have a profound impact on the youth who follow our lead. Your younger brothers, sisters, cousins, nieces, nephews and friends watch our every move, learning and growing accordingly. We are living in a generation of labels and categories. Labels and categories that our parents and the world unknowingly (and knowingly) taught us to recognize and follow. What I need you to understand, is that your words and the way you live your life, directly affect the younger generation that watches you at every turn.
So what do we do? Yes, we. We have do make something change. You can't point fingers and blame others for the way they act and the way they use their influence. We have to be united as one and make a commitment to change. Because WE HAVE TO DO BETTER. No matter who you are, girl, boy, black, white, Hispanic, gay, straight, trans, republican, democrat, Christian, atheist, tall, short, extrovert, introvert or any other label the world has placed on you. No matter who you are, you are worth it. You are not defined by any label. You are not confined to the category in which the world has placed you in. You can be whoever and whatever you want to be. You are a combination of every hope and dream and struggle and victory and moment that has passed by. So what I need you to understand is... you are you.
I need you to understand that you are not defined by anyone. Or anything.
I need you to understand...
