Real Talk: Be Yourself

Hipster. Tomboy. Princess. Nerd. These are all labels. Labels that people insist on using to try to narrow down individuals, and fit them into some predesigned category. Why? What if I want to be a princess AND a tomboy? I don't like labels. I don't like the idea of taking a whole person, and expecting one word to totally describe them. You know what one word I'd use to describe myself? Me. Yup, that's it. I'm not just one thing. I'm a plethora of things. It depends on my mood, and the day, what I'm doing, where I'm going, etc. At any given time, you could find me cleaning the toilet whilst wearing a sparkly tiara, or riding shotgun in a rally car, sporting a helmet with a pink shocker sticker on it. I could be in heels or cowboy boots. There could be dirt or grease under my pretty manicure. I could be quietly reading in the corner, or laughing it up with the life of the party. I'm not just one thing, so quit trying to label me that way.
And my friends are just as diverse. Because I don't choose friends based on any one characteristic. Their religion, race, sex, hobbies, and clothing choices are merely parts of who they are. If you treat me with kindness, respect, and make me laugh... chances are, we're going to be friends.
Humans are so quick to judge, that they struggle to get past appearances. If you don't look a certain way, you must not BE a certain way. And if we do make it past the outer package, we tend to get hung up on bits & pieces of a person's makeup. We focus on one single part of who they are, and never move beyond that. We want to lump everyone into categories, so that it's easier for us to decide who we want to surround ourselves with. Like shopping for relationships in a supermarket.
What would happen if you were blindfolded, and locked in a room with 10 people and forced to actually get to know them? I bet you'd be amazed at what you discovered.
I'm so tired of hearing things like "All gay people are..." or "All Christians are..." or "All Democrats are..." and so on and so on. You know what ALL gay people are? Gay. That's it. People cannot be solely defined by one single characteristic. How you could choose to like or dislike someone based on only one thing is insane to me. People are made up of an endless variety of attributes. To try to force all of those things into one boring label makes about as much sense as trying to milk a rock.
And for all those lost souls out there trying so hard to FIT into one of those boring labels... STOP IT! Don't be ashamed of being all the weird and wonderful things you are. Don't let someone else's idea of "cool" or "uncool" define you. You know what's truly cool? Being yourself, and being proud of it. If you're a rockstar who enjoys Star Wars, or a tomboy who secretly wears glitter toenail polish... own it. Don't be ashamed to step out of the label that you've been placed in. And if the world is so hell bent on putting you in a single category... create your own. As for me... I'm going with RedneckPrincessGeekUnicorn. I think that just about covers it. ;)

 

(Just a few of my many colorful sides.)