Labels

What I am is a concept that cannot be understood very simply.

Am I a child or an adult?

Am I a girl? If so, then that must mean I'm lesser than man.

Am I white and so therefore I must privledged? Or am I silly to asssume that the color of my skin will keep me safe throughout my life?

Am I oppressed because I am Muslim or am I opressed because society tells me I am?

An adult, yet still not wise enough.

An opinionated female, yet unable to be heard by anyone.

Someone who's as pale as snow, yet faces discrimination nearly every day because of her religion.

Am I to believe that I'm all of these things, but at the same time I'm not?

For whoever claimed these things about me doesn't realize that there's a difference between what I am and who I am

What I am, is what people label me as.

Who I am is so much more.

I am someone who realizes that age has nothing to do with wisdom; it's the experiences that you go through that matters.

I am someone who realizes that sex is nothing but a biological difference, therefore I can and I will do whatever it takes to fulfil my aspirations in life.

I am someone who realizes that yes, white privledge does exist.

But I also realize that not all people that classify themselves as white are free from the obstacles that life throws at each and every one of us on a daily basis.

I'm someone who's constantly frustrated and heartbroken over the hate crimes I see on the news, the civil war in Syria, the innocent people being slaughtered all over the world.

I'm someone whose Mother stays up all night, worrying about the dangers that her headscarf-wearing daughter could face if she happened to cross the wrong people.

I am someone who cries and laughs, who has good and bad days, who optimistically wishes for things to be different, yet is constantly disappointed.

I am someone who will not hesitate to stand up for what I believe in and I am someone who will go to the ends of the earth just to make a difference.

I stopped letting people tell me what they think I am

Because all that really matters is who I know I am.