By Andrea Wilburn
We are so encouraged by our cultures and subcultures
To grow by checking boxes
This achievement has been accomplished
Check
That feat was completed
Check
I am keeping up with those around me
Check
But human nature is no check mark
And yet our labels inform us that it is
A Good Person does this
A Good Friend does that
A Good Spouse does it all
We make our decisions based on
Supposed To Be’s and the Everyone Else standard
The definitions of our labels define how we behave
But our nature is so much more expansive
Than dusty progress that halted long ago
We all think art is just for canvases with paint
But we are all artists every moment
The creativity to make new choices
The spark to add depth to the familiar and make it new
You don’t have to be trained to be a master
All you have to be is you
Labels can help you realize that you are not alone
There are other people with common passions
And common traits and common dreams
But they can also be a very short ceiling
That says this is what you are to be
And to step beyond is to lose your safe space
That type of safety is not safe
Too much of it and you lose what makes you unique
A person can be parts of many labels
And harmonize them into one being
That no label could ever fully realize
That is who you are
That is where your purpose lies
Not just in what builds your connection to others
But in what builds your connection to yourself
You’ve got this.
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