Like a soupcan

Labeled. I'm going to (not really try to) just put a label on 'me.' Don't make myself think and inevitably overanalyze who I am and where I fit in to this mad society picture of American life. Just simply classify 'me' and be done with it.

Sometimes, I don't want to be different - unique - special - interesting - creative - bizarre - one-of-a-kind.

I like shopping at the Gap. I have no qualms about ordering cookie dough, easily the most popular ice cream flavor out there. I listen to Top 40 radio often. I classify myself as a political moderate. My grades are average. I really enjoy Target.

I'm not preppy because polos are ill-fitting and I'm not a hipster because I'm terrible at putting on eyeliner and even worse at not smudging it throughout the day. I'm not nerdy because I have lax study tendencies and I'm not a jock because I'm not athletically-inclined.

One could argue that these labels are absurd, outdated Hollywood creations that cannot apply to real life. I think they ALL apply and everyone has a little bit of each of them within.

Just like the Kinsey scale or the Learning Styles Inventory, there's a lot of room from gray space in today's world.

I like my paisley bedspread but my favorite jeans are acid washed skinny ones from Urban Outfitters. I'm definitely a fan of school, so that makes me a little (lot) bit nerdy. One day, I'll exercise and then I'll fit the jock piece in.

Ultimately, I wind up in the middle. Maybe my defining, separating flavor is my blogvoice - tiny and new in this vast blogosphere. Maybe my defining value is religion or optimism. Or snarky, judgmental comments.

Most likely, what makes mainstream me not so mainstream is my arrived confidence in just liking what I like and doing what I do because I'm happy. And I hope that makes you happy too.

Sometimes, the middle of the gray area means lacking polarization. I think polarization is killing our country's government really quickly. Some political theorists I skimmed freshman year disagree completly and say polarization fuels American democracy. I think it stagnates American progress. And I'm just as much of a political theorist as anyone else. Maybe I'm ahead of the average American in terms of political theorizing (doubtful).

Or maybe I am the average American, like the ones that Jay Leno goes out of his way to embarrass on the streets of New York. Unless Secret Life of the American Teenager is true - then I've just failed epically at normalcy by evading drug addictions and teen pregnancy.

See how quickly a Freudian self-analysis became a framework for studying America. Clearly, this means I am a wholesome patriot crusading for democratic progress. That's glam.

So where does this all tie together? It doesn't. We don't always have to be so neat and pretty and classified - though I really do like wearing a bow in my hair.

PS. Check out NoLabels if you like politics, progress, startups, important people, and not labeling things.