Categories. I use them. My friends use them. I bet you use them. They’re easy but immoral. What category do you put yourself in? Everyone has a different opinion. It’s highly likely that the ‘category’ you put yourself into is different than what I would put you in.
Who are you? Are you a Prep? A Jock? Emo, Mexican, Stoner? Slut, burn-out, loner? These definitions for people sound so sweet right? Absolutely not! Sure they sound fine. For you. When you use them do you even think about the person behind the category?
Have I been called an Emo? Yes. Prep? Duh! Stoner, Jock, Loner? Yes, Yes, and yes. Do I belong in one of these classifications? Not really. I don’t let those accusations define me. I define myself. Starting a way long time ago.
In third grade I had one friend. People didn’t like us. If one of us was gone the other would get ridiculed for being alone. Loner.
In seventh grade my friends were all happy-go-lucky, shop at Hollister and Abercrombie and Fitch. Soon my old ‘look’ was gone. Prep.
In eighth grade a new girl came. She was different. I liked her style and we became friends. I ‘transformed’ again only to be shoved into a new category. Emo.
I moved here at the end of eighth grade and hung out with people that made bad choices. Stoner.
Now, you see the cruelties of my life. Finding myself. Not only my life. Everyone’s life. How fair is all that? Did they know me? Not really. It really hurts being put in a category. Like being crammed into a space where you don’t belong. I’ve talked to people. Friends. Acquaintances. One said,
“It’s stupid. Judging people by clothes.”
Another stated,
“No one has the right to tell people what to wear or what you can be.”
Both declarations are similar but have different extents.
How old were you before you became a ‘prep’ or an ‘emo’ or whatever they say you are? I can tell you right now both my 6 year old sister and my 9 year old sister are categorizing people. They even made up their own. Freak-O’s. Hippie G’s. When will it stop? Cliques have been around forever. You’ve got your Goths, Jocks, Cheerleaders, and Nerds. Nothing’s really changed. All we’re doing is pushing people away. Making the even more separated than we are now. We are simple pawns in this epidemic. This I believe.