Please Label Me

In the past couple years I've grown to like labels. Not all, but some. This is part of the maturing process, I think. As a college student, I often became prickly when folks tried to define who I was while I wasn't quite sure myself. I'm not much more sure now, but I have started to accept that labels can be helpful. When you describe yourself as part of a recognizable group, you provide a reference point which someone else can quickly connect with. If that someone is a member of the same group, you instantly form a bond, a small community with him or her.

I think labels are used in this way much more often than they are used to constrict or box in people's perspectives of others. There is value in conviction, in aligning yourself with certain ideas and ideals. I've come to see that this often outweighs the stereotypes you sometimes find yourself fitted with. Most folks recognize that there is a enormous diversity of thought in the world, and that labels are general groupings, not strictly narrow definitions.

Some labels I have grown to accept are engineer, Republican, conservative, Christian, moderate, pragmatist, extrovert, Protestant, blogger... I'm sure there are others. I've even cozied up to my Myers-Briggs profile. I welcome suggestions. And I would encourage you to consider what labels you might accept for yourself.

Image: used with permission from Young Lyxx