Labels. Mention them to an adult, and they will most likely think of grocery stores, with good reason. Labels are things that should remain on food items, clothing, etc. Anything but human beings. A child of the 21st century, I no longer have the privilege to honestly state that labels bring images of Publix to mind. Rather than cans of Campbell soup, I am bombarded with thoughts of school, cliques, people. I’m sure that it applies to you, as well. Words like ‘prep, skater, emo, rocker, nerd,’ and even the occasional ‘gangster’ have become part of an average teenagers everyday vocabulary. Used on colloquial levels, we all know what they mean.

Usually, the way we dress, speak, or act render us one of the above labels. Many times, we change outfits for fear of being called something we’re not. It might sound horribly dramatic, but it feels as our right to freedom of speech has been stolen. If we dress all in black with heavy eyeliner one day, but in khakis and a polo the next, we’re automatically labeled as posers. Why? Because today’s youth has been programmed to judge books by their covers. Words are the new weapons of mass destruction, with images at the center of the war.

I’m only one person. I alone cannot annihilate labeling. But what I can do is ask myself: what in the world happened to originality? All of a sudden, having your own sense of style is frowned upon. Mixing a studded belt with a Hollister top is now considered a crime punishable by law. Thanks to labels, beauty is no longer in the eye of the beholder, but in the brand of our clothing.

We’re human beings, each born equal. What we decide to make of ourselves thereafter is our own affair. Nowhere along the path should we resort to falling under predetermined, generic categories. Contrary to popular belief, it is possible to survive without following the crowd. And, contrary to popular belief, we’re human beings; not cans of soup.