The Art of Labeling

I know, how corny is this? A second post on the same day? I'll just chalk it up to eagerness I couldn't control.

Everyone of us is a product of labeling. In some way, whether it is conscious or unconscious, we have labeled someone. You don't even have to know someone to label them, we just do it. 

However, what we may not realize about labels is how limiting they are.

I've known for sometime now what I'm generally labeled as. I'm referred to as "quiet/shy" and "sweet". Those of you who know me a bit better would probably disagree with this. To be honest, I have struggled with this label for a grossly long period of time. I personally don't see myself as those things. I am definitely not quiet and not shy. I love people. I love being around them. I'm an extrovert. Being in the middle of a crowd is one of my favorite things. It's alive and exciting. I love to talk, probably more then I should (my poor roommate is a saint for putting up with all my chatter). I'm loud and I can be annoyingly obnoxious. And while I don't consider myself to be a horribly mean person (although I was sorted into Slytherin house...how does that even happen?!) I don't necessarily consider myself to be sweet. Nice, yes. Sweet, no. There is a difference.

Not only are labels limiting, but they have the tendency to stick around for a long, long time. In the church I attended for 19 years, this was my label. And every area of ministry I went through or served in, this stigma remained firmly attached. No matter what. And when I did do something that was in-character for me, but out of character for me according to others, I was criticized for pretending or trying to be someone I wasn't. I was never able to be myself. And it didn't just happen there, it happened at school. Different labels, but still ones that have stuck around until now. I will admit, I am fortunate in my labeling. It isn't bad by any means, it's just...boring. Sweet and exciting aren't normally associated with each other. People generally want to hang out with a fun person instead of a sweet one. And that's happened to me before. Because of a label and not having the chance to prove myself otherwise.

I'm not trying to make this a corny "this is who I am accept me for what it is" post, although it may be coming off like that. It's more of a challenge. To myself and to others. 

When I really spend time thinking about it, how silly is it that we do this? Our entire outlook of a person is based off of a few interactions. People are complex. Even the simplest person has many layers to them. Yet because of the labels we put on them, they are confined to one character. And most of the time, it's characteristics they don't even identify with! Can you imagine how many people out there are not who we think they are? And I don't mean that in a bad way. We just never give them the chance to be who they want to be. 

My challenge to myself is to stop. I have lived with the frustrations of incorrect labeling. Knowing how dumb it is, how can I actually do the same to someone else? It isn't right and it isn't fair.