Labels

My grandma always said not to label people.

I see that she was right.

I look around at this school.

This place.

This life.

Kids, even my younger brother.

They have the “cool kids.”

They have the “nerds.”

They have the “jocks.”

The “druggies.”

The “idiots.”

The “drama kids.”

As soon as one hangs with another-

it’s a total mess.

Kids trying their best.

Answering questions.

Turning everything in.

Trying, and being successful.

So they’re suddenly “nerds.”

No. They have other hobbies.

Jobs, friends, games, etc.

Then there’s kids acting dumb to be funny.

It’s not funny.

What happens now determines your future.

The kid could be so bright and smart.

But, he needs to be in the “cool” group to be accepted.

The “jocks.”

So they’re great at sports.

They could be good at art as well,

or farming, school, speech, writing.

Yet, they only get credit for being a “jock.”

Why do we need these labels?

Do we really need that much satisfaction to “fit in?”

Who says?

Who determines?

How do you really know this is who they are?

They could be somebody completely different.

Why do we need these labels-

to fill our lives,

to give us a place,

a spot,

a reserved place in meetings.

People are people.

Not labels.

So as I look around,

I realize my grandma was right.

She said…

“Darling-

if you label people, you won’t see the real them.”

She was right.

But, I realize I still can’t see the real them.

Because they’ve already labeled themselves.