From the moment you leave your house each day, no matter where you go, you are labeled. Prettiest, smartest, biggest ego, best athlete… One of my personal biggest fears in ninth grade, especially as a new student, was how others would perceive me, how they would label me. To be fair, as a 4-foot-10-inch ninth grader with braces and child sized glasses I didn’t scream “prettiest or coolest” but I let my appearance and shy personality keep me from reaching out to people. I isolated myself and let people label me.

There are times in life when I think everyone just wants to fit in and for me, ninth grade was that time. Initially I hid behind my appearance and label as a “shy, introverted person” hoping that I wouldn’t be judged or hurt if I was “nothing special.” I didn’t want to be invisible but I did not want to be noticed for the wrong reasons. From my perspective, on the outside looking in, it seemed that everyone around me fit into their own labels comfortably. When people said hi to me in the hallway or invited me to sit with them at lunch, I worried that if I made a mistake it would be my undoing. I became so fixated with how others perceived me that in the end, ironically, I was the one standing in my own way. I was the one keeping me from making friends. I let my own heightened fears and expectations keep me not only from enjoying my classes but from reaching out to people. It also kept them from reaching out to me. I welcomed the weekend as a way to escape the labels. I thought it would be easier to conform to what others thought of me rather than to stand out for the wrong reasons. Yet, what I’ve learned over my four years at Hackley is that these superficial labels do not define who a person is.

The one place where I felt most like myself ended up being on the cross country team. Here people were individuals and teammates. Labels not only did not matter but they did not exist. This team gave me the opportunity to gain confidence by vanquishing my “label.” Though school was still hard for me, cross country became my comfort zone. I knew despite the obstacles with adjusting to the new workload, new teachers and new people, that this constant in my life would help me push through the uphills and keep moving forward. I am not saying go out and join cross country, but as freshmen and sophomores you have so many opportunities here to be a part of something bigger than yourself, something powerful and meaningful.  In the 10th grade I had this realization and now looking back, I know that’s what has gotten me to senior year.

This past October I realized how far I’ve come when labels came into play again with senior superlatives. Though this “game” of labeling people may seem harmless, designating people as the best or brightest shows how our peers have viewed us over the years. During this labeling process we reveal and make public the labels we’ve grown accustomed to in high school. This concrete way of judgement and neatly defining individuals, however, proved to not be as harmless as I thought. While some people were happy with their labels, others were embarrassed. And as I watched all this happen I realized that all of us have some insecurity and may not “neatly” fit our labels.

This year when I was voted “teacher’s pet,” I had a moment of clarity. I realized I was ok with this, because this one phrase does not define and cannot limit me. This moment of clarity allowed me to once again reflect on how far I had come since ninth grade. While I am grateful to the cross country team for providing me with an outlet when I needed it most, I now also know that besides having an outlet, it is vital to not care about how others see you. Ultimately I could accept the label as only a small part of me. I did not care that I was labeled as “teacher’s pet” because I knew that I was more than this.

So ask yourself, what defines you?/ Do you let others define who you are?/ Your identity is in your own hands./ Today you have the power to define yourself. And though this task may seem daunting or scary, now’s the time to create your own labels, to take control of how the world sees you but more importantly to take control of how you see yourself.  High school can be scary, it’s a place where whether we want to admit it or not, we strive for perfection: strive to be heard,/ strive to fit in/ and strive to be labeled the right thing. My one piece of advice today has two parts: The first part is to do what makes you happy. Surround yourself with people that see the good in you, that are friends with you for all the right reasons. The second part is never to let your own self fear, fear of being different or an outsider or being labeled by other people, keep you from your true self. Today is the day to redefine who you are and to reject the labels holding you back. Because the only thing that matters in the end is how you see you.