To Do: Self-identification

There are people who hate labels and there are people, like me, who love them. I love labels because they make things easy. Labels help me distinguish between Paprika and Cayenne, they also help me navigate trough society.

There are hipsters, geeks, queers, jocks, barbies, hippies, etc...There are also moms, princesses, intellectuals, corporate types, good girls, bad girls, artsy folks and crazy people. There are ethnic labels, sex or race labels and although it tends to suck for those who get discriminated against because of these, they still exist and some people embrace them.
© Stapleton Collection/Corbis



I actually think labels are awesome especially when one plays against them like I did in my youth.
-You say I'm a god girl?  Well, here are some punk ass boots and a nose piercing to change your perception but I'm not going to be promiscuous or use drugs only to make you feel guilty about labeling me a bad girl.



The thing is, I'm not that young girl anymore and now find it confusing being in the "Undefined" category. I don't know if it's a pastime of mine but I'm in a perpetual identity crisis. I want to wear a big sign that says "Please Judge me" so I can tag myself.

I know I said I was undefined, yet I still have labels and that is my problem, I have too many and to be honest not all of them fit.

Am I Costa Rican? Well, I haven't lived in Costa Rica for years and my accent is almost unnoticeable.
Canadian? Well, I don't think I fully identify with the love of winter sports and the monarchy.
Australian? Not really although I'm addicted to Vegemite

Yet I feel a little bit of everything... I love Montreal, Quebec and Canada, I miss the Australian lifestyle and I deeply care about Costa Rican food and traditions. What is a homeland by the way?

How about gender? I know I'm of the female sex, but am I a woman? a girl? does our generation get to call themselves girls until they are 58?

I love Photography but I'm not a photographer, I love fashion but I'm not a fashionista, I used to identify as a career woman but I no longer have a corporate job, what happened to me? Can a Communication Student (current label) still identify as a career woman? Can I still qualify for the free spirit traveler tag? I once called myself a geek but realized I knew nothing about video games, I was disqualified.

There are many things I enjoy, many things I do well, many things I'm not good at but constantly do, so what am I?

Does that make me a -gasps -"Complex" person. I think I kind of like that.

I have a good friend who is thirty something, she says the best thing about being her age is knowing who you are. I envy that, maybe on my 30th birthday I'll magically figure it all out and I'll know what my place in society is.