LABELS BELONG ON THINGS NOT PEOPLE

Having spent the
past few weeks at
the College Of The
Mainland lab school,
conducting observations
and getting to
know the children,
I have learnt many
things about them.
And one thing I have
learnt, which is common
for children of all
ages—from age one
to age five (and most
likely beyond, but this
is the age group I am
working with)—is that
they are very inquisitive.
“Why” is a commonly
used word and an often asked question.
And that got me thinking; does the inquisitive nature
we have as children continue into adulthood? I
haven’t conducted any research so take this information
with a grain of salt, but I think it does. I think it is
our innate nature to be inquisitive. To wonder about
the world and why things happen and why things are
the way they are.
So, in honor of all the above, I am going to spend
this tidbits just going through some questions I have
and things that have been opening up my inquisitive
side. Not that I haven’t been inquisitive before, but I
have noticed that I have become more inquisitive now
than I have ever been before. Except before the age
of five. The bulk of my inquisitive self could have been
then, but I wouldn’t know. Everything before age five
is kind of a blur.
Let’s get the complicated, heavy and (possibly) difficult
topics out of the way first. So, what’s the deal
with our society’s obsession with labels? Why can’t
people just be who or what they want to be without
having to put a label on it? I mean, for me, labels are
only for objects, not people. Labelling is such a problem,
in my opinion. It causes divisions. And in the
time we are currently seeing, we do not need more
reasons to be divided. Let’s talk politics for a second.
Why must we label ourselves as Democrats and Republicans
or Liberals and Conservatives? Every single
one of us, regardless of our label, wants the best
for the country. The only difference is that each side
has different ways of going about it. But then, you
take the fact that—with these labels—we are more focused
on insulting the other side, rather than working
together to make this country a better place to live.
And I think what people fail to notice is that each side
has their extremes—i.e., the far right and the far left.
These extremes do NOT represent the entire group,
but everyone on the other side assumes that those
extremes do represent the entire group. Conservatives
and Liberals, Republicans
and Democrats CAN
GET ALONG. It’s just a matter
of looking past that label
and listening to the person
behind the label. You might
find that you agree with
them more than disagree
with them. So that’s why
I say labels are problematic.
And another label that
causes confusion—feminist.
Everyone has a different
definition and opinion of
feminism. Dictionary-wise, it
is the idea that all men and
women should be treated
equally. Not a difficult concept
to grasp. But there are people who think feminism
is anti-men and that feminists hate men. Well, if
you come across a feminist who hates men then they
aren’t a feminist. End of story. But, with that said, I
can understand why people aren’t keen on the movement.
I used to be a hardcore feminist. Like, I wasn’t
ashamed of saying that “yeah I am a feminist.” But
recently I have moved away from the label. Not because
I think it’ll be easier for me, in certain aspects
of life, because I say I’m not a feminist. No, I have
moved away from the label because I have started to
hate labels and because the term doesn’t adequately
fit my feelings. I believe feminism is necessary, but
more so in non-Western countries. I believe feminism
needs to do a better job of including men and men’s
issues. Do I think there is a problem with how women
are treated in this country and others? YES. Women
in our country may be able to vote and drive and,
you know, live on our own terms; but there are still
little things that I notice that need working on. Some
of these things I notice in my personal life and some
I notice due to what I hear and what goes on. But
then you go to other countries and you see how much
better things are for women here, that you sit back
and wonder. So I support the majority of the feminist
movement and I believe, as good as things are (for
us), we can improve a lot more; and we need to start
talking about men’s issues and we need to improve
the situation for women, and men for that matter, in
other countries. But I do not refer to myself as feminist
anymore, not only because I do not like labels,
but because it puts me in a box and will cause people
to shy away from actually listening. It’s so much better
for me to say “I kind of support feminism but I am
not completely feminist for XYZ reasons” than to say
“Yeah, I’m feminist” and to have people make assumptions.
I’m not anti-feminist, not at all, but I’m not
100% feminist—for multiple reasons. If I had to label
myself, I suppose I am more of an egalitarian. But my
favorite actress is feminist and so are a good number
of my family and friends, so take that as you want.
Okay, so that label talk took more space than I expected.
So here are a few other questions for you.
These aren’t as heavy and don’t require much explanation.
Why am I such a fangirl? I can be super mature
and responsible on a day to day basis. I go to work,
I do my assignments, I
study, I take care of the
house, I watch over a
group of young children
during my internship, I manage my time, I work out,
I eat right….I do all of that. By day I am organized
and hard-working and I do what I need to do and I
even manage to get ahead
on some things. But then,
there are times (either at
night or on weekends and
holidays) that something
changes. I start watching
videos and interviews and
TV shows and listening to
songs—all with my favorite
celebrities. And I go from
responsible adult to fangirl
Trishna in two seconds.
Would you ever believe
that I cried over the trailer
of Beauty and The Beast
live action a year ago because
it had Emma Watson
(who is my FAVORITE)
and Belle is my favorite Disney princess and IT WAS
SO BEAUTIFUL. Would you believe that me and my
friend send each other gif’s of our favorite actors on
Facebook, and just freak out over how good looking
they are? Would you believe that I had a mini freakout
when I got a follow on Instagram from Zayn Malik’s
sister? (Zayn is a former member of One Direction
for those who do not know). Would you believe
that one of the happiest days of my life was when I
got floor tickets to One Direction and my sister and I
went and I SWEAR Liam Payne waved at us? Would
you believe that if I ever met one of my favorite celebrities,
I would turn into a stuttering mess? Well, I
can assure you that all of the above is true. There are
three sides to me—professional, personal and fangirl.
Anyone who I come across at work, my internship or
school sees my professional side. Some people at
these places, plus all my family and friends see my
personal side. But it’s only a few people in my life that
see my true fangirl side. But I can easily balance the
three and I know when it’s time to be professional.
So that’s not a problem. But if one of my favorite celebrities
walks into The Post to be interviewed, I can’t
make any promises on being calm. Probably wouldn’t
be a good idea to let me do the interview.
Okay, other questions I currently have: Why does
it always rain so much? Why is Texas so unbearably
hot and filled with mosquitoes? Why do my family
members live so far away? Why have I had a headache
for the past two days? Why is working out so
boring? Why isn’t it Christmas break yet? Why is everything
so confusing right now?Okay, the end