The Journey: ‘Love People, Not Labels’
By SAMANTHA BRAZIE, Special to The Paper
Ciao, Paper readers! After spending a little over a week in my new favorite place, Italy, I’m back! What a fun, inspirational and eye-opening trip it was. I learned so much about the history of Italy, its culture and art that was truly magical.
When in Rome I saw something on a store window that I couldn’t get out of my head. Then, on our last day, I saw it again in Milan. It said, “Love people. Not labels.”
What a truly deep saying for a storefront.
In the professional world, we are taught that our personal brand is important. Perception is reality. We need to dress for the job we want, not the one we have.
All are correct, within reason.
If you have ever been the poor kid at school whose parents couldn’t afford, or simply would not, buy name brand clothes, you understand. If you’ve gone through tough times in your life and had to sacrifice your own self-care, you understand. If you’ve been judged by others because of your appearance, whatever the reason – you understand. If you’ve been disappointed by someone only to find out they were never who you thought they were, you understand.
When digging into the intentionality behind this statement, I learned that it was meant to “promote the diversity and uniqueness of each person, who we consider a valuable resource for the community”.
Why wouldn’t we want this? What ever made us say someone must style or cut their hair a certain way, wear high heels or drive a certain car to be idealistic? Why do we pressure ourselves to fit into a “box?” If that’s something you want to do, ok – but if not …
Steve Jobs wore jeans every day, Mark Zuckerberg wears t-shirts all the time. At the end of the day, it’s about projecting who YOU are.
To me, loving people and not labels means that we don’t give the suited person preference, respect, or attention over the person next to them. It means we learn who people are inside instead of judging them by their outward appearance. It means that if that first impression was a bit muddled, give them a second chance because we don’t know what is going on in people’s personal lives from day to day.
It also means love yourself for who you know YOU are. Don’t force yourself into a box that makes you miserable and always, always remember: you can’t hate yourself into the version of a person you love. Self-love comes from deep down and we have to remind ourselves of who we are and what we are capable of often … until it’s automatic. You deserve that.
“Nothing has transformed my life more than realizing that it’s a waste of time to evaluate my worthiness by weighing the reaction of the people in the stands.” – Brené Brown
Questions? Comments? Email me at [email protected].
