Labels to Liberation

you can be anything you want to

I always found the question ‘What do you want to be when you grow up?’ strange. My friends would cheerfully scream “A singer!” or “I want to sell cakes and open my own bakery!” or “I want to go to nursing school and become a nurse anesthesiologist!” I wondered how they even knew what that was at such a young age. I wondered how they were so sure and why it took me so much time, even years, to formulate what seemed like a simple answer.

As I grew older I came to realize why I found this question so daunting to answer. From a tender age, our malleable brains are conditioned to attach ourselves to the notion that we can only be one thing and that singular label is to become our identity. I mean this in the sense that it extends beyond a career path and that it infiltrates every facet of our existence. That sounds a little scary to me.

I don’t particularly harbor any aversion to using labels. They provide a semblance of understanding, yes. But, they fall short in capturing the complex essence of a human being. We undergo a constant state of transformations until our last breath. However, many of us subconsciously bind ourselves to the labels that have been handed to us by society—and the labels we impose on ourselves.

We forget that we are the architect’s of our life. We forget that we are free to rebuild ourselves without seeking permission.

You literally can be a new version of yourself if you choose to. There is power in believing that change doesn’t always require the death of one thing to birth something new. Change invites us to shed old layers, beliefs, and attachments, allowing the emergence of renewal. Much like a caterpillar undergoes a metamorphic dance to become a butterfly. It’s nature.

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Within my circle, I went from being known as a student for years to now being known as a 9-5 corporate girlie (who knows she has spent too much time feeling boxed in by her own perceptions and projections of those around her), but I’ve decided to release that label recently and embody all the multifaceted parts of my being. I am grateful for no longer feeling the need and the pressure to cling to a narrative I have shared for years.

The egoic attachment we have to our identity will always hinder us from experiencing beauty and joy. The realization that I am not who I was even a month ago has deepened my love for this journey and has made me feel excited to meet all the different versions of myself along the way.

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Let’s keep the conversation flowing

🙇🏽‍♀️ In what ways could the act of reclaiming the narrative of your existence/being manifest for you?

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