Labels Hurt

Kind. Trustworthy. Brave. Selfless. Thoughtful. Friendly. Weird. Rude. Mean. Selfish. Arrogant. Humble. Genius. Jock. Freak. These are some of the labels we put on others.

Written by Eriny Guirguis

In my experience, we label others based on how we see them.

We even label them obliviously; for example, some people label the Coronavirus "The Chinese-virus," without pausing to consider how those words make others feel.

When we label others, we are not defining them - we are defining ourselves. It is impossible to define others without defining ourselves.

When we put labels on other people, they start to feel self-conscious, doubting that they will ever live up to the expectations of others. Unfortunately, we fail to see how the labels we put on others affect them. But they do, affect them, that is.

For me, I had to move to a new school, because I was hurt by the labels others put on me. I gave into the labels. But I would like to thank the people who labeled me. Because of them, they told me what they thought I was not.

To those of you who struggle against a label, people label you because they want you to become stronger. As LeBron James once said, “I like criticism. It makes you strong.” To the people who label others, I would ask that you consider the following: "What label would you give yourself?"

Labels aren’t always a bad thing, because labels can make you stronger.