labels.

why is it that we are a people obsessed with labels? we constantly label ourselves, other people, pets, and objects with arbitrary titles. why do we do this?

i'm very quick to label myself: english professor, student for life, baker, seamstress, mommy to five dogs, photographer, and many more. but, none of these self-inflicted labels is all-encompassing of who i am. yes, i am an english professor, and i spend a great deal of my time manipulating the language and literature, but that is just a fraction of the whole.

i am not a person who generally enjoys being placed in a box of any kind. i reject the notion that i can be "figured out". no person is simple enough to be figured out--we are all of us complex, unique individuals with many layers. onions, if you will.

do labels help us relate to one another? do they make us feel more comfortable?

i have no answers but will wear my labels proudly--all the while smirking at the truth i'm privy to: no amount of labels can tell my whole story.

in the words of walt whitman, "i am large, i contain volumes".