When I was growing up I climbed trees, rode bikes, played sports, and did everything the boys did! I went to a private school that made me wear dresses but I wore shorts under them so I could play basketball and hang upside down on the monkey bars during recess! I didn't care about fashion or princesses! I enjoyed playing marbles and camping more than a trip to the mall or getting a stylish haircut! Guess what? I was labeled as a "Tomboy!"
Think about that for a minute. Just because I enjoyed certain activities, and liked wearing certain clothes, I was made to feel like I was somehow less of a girl than the ones who liked ribbons in their hair and spent their recesses playing house! For years I wore that label and when I entered puberty I was a very confused young lady!
Society had stripped me of my femininity, just because I didn't fit into it's mold, and I bought into it hook, line, and sinker! It literally took me years to feel comfortable in my own skin, and even today I have days where I struggle! But I refuse to feel "less than" as a woman any longer, just because I don't fit into an imaginary mold imposed on me by a society of legalistic critics!
Today if you offered me a day of pampering where I get my nails done, dye my hair, get a massage, and go shopping or a whitewater rafting trip I'm going rafting! That doesn't make me any less of a woman than the one who chooses the day of pampering! I am 100% woman regardless of how I dress, what activities I do, the career I choose, or anything else for that matter!
God has created each of us to be different than the person standing next to us! It is the beauty of our differences that makes us special and unique! We are doing girls and boys a disservice when we label them! Les Brown, one of the world's most renowned motivational speakers, was labeled as educable mentally retarded during his school years and he lived with that label for years.
In high school Les met a teacher who changed his life forever! He saw potential in Les, and when Les told him he couldn't learn because he was educable mentally retarded, the teacher said, "Don't ever say that again. Someone's opinion of you does not have to become your reality!" From that day on Les began to learn and as a result he became a successful businessman, an elected member of the Ohio State House of Representatives, and an influential motivational speaker.
Every day I meet people who live under the labels placed on them by others. It is sad because they are being robbed of experiencing the beauty of their individuality! They have bought into a lie, and are living far below their potential! As a society we have to stop placing labels on people just because they are different! We have to embrace our differences and encourage the people who have challenges so they can become who they were created to be!
With children, we must allow them to explore their individuality and encourage them to express it! When a child has challenges, it is the responsibility of the community to help them overcome them! No one should be labeled, and no one should have to experience the "less than" feeling, that I felt growing up just because they are different! We are all created beautiful, and we all have the potential to become successful individuals, even if we are different or have challenges! Let's put an end to the labels, and let's start embracing the beauty of a person's inner spirit!
