Written by Karen D. Swim
This side up. Fragile handle with care. Ship to. Labels, clear, definitive providing direction so that we do not damage, misuse, insert the wrong way or deliver to the wrong destination. Factory Direct. Made in China. Country of Origin. Labels that tell the starting point, where it was before it came to be. Do not remove. Stop. Do Not Cross Line. Labels of authority, defy them at your own risk.
We look to labels to help us understand the contents, provide direction, guide our decisions. The labels help us to put things in their proper context and neatly box them in their place.
My labels define me only in the moment. I effortlessly slip them on and off calling upon them when needed like a uniform that signals my purpose, my calling my need. Boxing gloves for the ring to counterpunch the opponent that hinders my progress, hiking boots to climb the mountains that lead me to my destination, the cape that celebrates my ascent. Labels and uniforms that do not define nor direct but are mine to own, to use at will.
I have been wife, daughter, student, teacher, friend, gospel rapper, corporate success story. The labels of my experience written upon my soul allowing me to take the pieces and shift them into new places reusing, recycling, as they guide what I am called today.
Labels that put me in a mindset, cue up the music and set the tone for the task. I sit at the keyboard, eyes locked on the blank screen and declare in defiance “I am a writer,” calling forth the muse, shutting out the voices that whisper “you can’t, you won’t, you are not.” I am a writer as I silence the critic and allow my hands to connect with my spirit and pour forth the words of my heart.
I am a woman, soft, sensual deserving to be loved. Nurturing, caring, protective and loyal. I am a woman. Smart, sassy with fierce shoes, I own this oh yea this fits.
I am African American, daughter of the motherland dipped in red, white and blue, a melding of histories and continents, once shackled but now free. Junk in the trunk, full thighs, yes the daughter of my ancestors who sought hope in the Promised Land, the songs of Mother Africa alive and dancing in my heart. Yes I am proudly African American.
I am a runner. I lace up my shoes and look to the horizon. Confident, forward momentum, feet moving to an internal rhythm of joy and effort. Legs pumping, heart beating, sweat pouring from my brow, ponytail swinging in the wind as I propel myself through mile after mile with sheer determination. I am a runner.
I am all of these things and so much more. One label cannot define the sum total of my being. Defying to be classified by one word, one label, shrugging off the stiffness of finality preferring to move in and out, intertwining them, and creating friction with their opposition. Rejecting narrow-minded definitions and descriptions my mouth screams my rebellion. Writer, woman, runner, strong, soft, practical, carefree. I dare you to box me in and define me with one label. I courageously accept them all.
I’ve done the mic check and it’s on and ready for you to take the stage. What say you dear reader? How have labels defined you or have they? Share it, shout it, sing it. The comment box is open and ready.
The above post was written as a spoken word piece. If you are not familiar with spoken word or slam poetry, Melissa Donovan has a great post that will enlighten. The Image is by David Shankbone (what a talent!) and is being used via a CC Attribution 2.5 License.
Amy Derby says
Gospel rapper? (Oh, this I need to see!) 🙂
I don’t like labels, but I understand that most people like them because they keep their brains from exploding.
Amy Derbys last blog post..Slammin’ Sunday: Round Two
NaTuRaL says
I shun labels when it comes to race especially, but sometimes it seems necessary because of the world we live in for people to understand who you are…. i’m just human. i’m not AA, well actually I am, but I don’t define myself as such…I’m human.
NaTuRaLs last blog post..EntreCard Therapy
Wendi Kelly-Life's Little Inspirations says
Karen,
It’s funny, I make think of myself as a writer for me, myself and I, but when someone compliments me as you did ( thanks by the way ) I think Huh? what did I say? I wasn’t *writing* I was *talking*. I had to go back through the posts to read it. LOL.
Thanks, and frame anything you like…once our words are out on the internet…who knows where they go anymore!
Wendi Kelly-Life’s Little Inspirationss last blog post..The Power of Your Secret Weapon
Melissa Donovan says
@Karen, I have thought the same thing! “Maybe I’ll make a video one of these days…” then I start thinking about hair and makeup and ugh… maybe next week! Hehehee!
Melissa Donovans last blog post..Slam Poetry Links and Resources
Alex Fayle says
What a beautiful piece of writing Karen!
Being an organizer, I love labels. My trouble is always knowing which label to apply because they change depending on your point of view and situation.
When I was in Library School, I never took a cataloguing course because I knew it would be impossible to decide on a label for a book. I would have sat there staring at the book, thinking “well, it could be this, but if you were researching that, you’d look at the book in this way, or if you were a scholar in a certain field, unless I labeled the book this way you’d miss it altogether and that wouldn’t be good.
Alex Fayles last blog post..Discovering a Passion for Blogging: Urban Panther Interview Part 2
steph says
Karen and Wendi: I see what you’re saying. I agree that those things are an intimate, innate part of you, of who you are. It’s true that what we do – and how we think and what we believe – affects how we see things.
Yet I wonder, still, if those things, as integral and important as they are, are not simply ways we’ve chosen to express who we perceive ourselves to be?
Does that make sense?
stephs last blog post..Finding Your Voice – And Sticking with It
Karen Swim says
@Ulla, no leather shorts? LOL! Your ranting is always welcome here Ulla! I agree with you and as you point out the stereotypical labels are the worse, aren’t they? Yet, many probably do believe those false labels. The thought of you chugging beer, wearing leather shorts and yodeling cracks me up! 🙂
@Wendi, your comment is beautifully written and truly affirms that you ARE a writer! 😉 May I frame this madame VP? Beautiful!!!
@Melissa, I often start out writing or thinking and then when I speak it I hear the rhythm. It might be fun to do a recording or video and post it here but um if video I must get my hair done first! LOL!
@E, Ha! I snuck the gospel rapper part in and you caught it! Yea, it is pretty funny but true, even recorded. We won’t even talk about my purple hair days, eeesh! LOL! Hey, I’d love to see those pics. We have to get together before it snows. 🙂
Karen Swims last blog post..This Side Up
Ellen Wilson says
This is very groovy: jazzy and poetic. I like it. I like the blending of all the labels so they become one. No one is pulling for admission to the front, they all blend in harmony.
Gospel rapper?! Sweet! I took some great pics at MSU of a gospel rapper group. I forgot who they were, I’ll have to look it up. They were really good.
Ellen Wilsons last blog post..My Social Experiment: RSS Numbers
Melissa Donovan says
Wow! I was thinking that this sounds like a performance piece but I didn’t know for sure until I got to the note at the end (thanks!). Wonderful! Will you be recording or performing this?
Wendi Kelly-Life's Little Inspirations says
What are labels now but again, the power of words? We can shapeshift them into anythng we need them to be. We need only to remember that WE hold the power over them, It’s when we forget that, when we think the words hold the power over us, that it all falls apart. we have the CHOICE over what words to choose.
Karen, it was a beautiful piece of written *spoken word verse* I could hear the cadence. well done. Very, very powerful. I would say I know that the word writer has been a defining word for me too since I could form that thought in my mind as a small child. It was how I found the logic of my world, how I made sense of what was around me, by writing it down and translating it into what I could understand. Writing is the doorway from the center of my soul to the rest of humanity. I would be lost without it.
Wendi Kelly-Life’s Little Inspirationss last blog post..The Power of Your Secret Weapon
Ulla Hennig says
Karen,
you’ve written a powerful piece! I am a German – but I am not yodeling. I don’t wear those leather shorts and I don’t spend my time drinking beer and being “gemütlich”. I have been trained as a teacher – but when I am teaching, I try not to teach but to help other persons to learn and to have fun learning. I am 55 (since today, my birthday!), but I am not a 50+ person – I like to hear rock music and dance my shoes off. I am working as a web editor, but I am not keen on programming – I like to look at webdesign from an artisan’s point of view. Let’s forget labels – and look how things really are (sorry for ranting on like this but your post made me)!
Ulla Hennigs last blog post..What I learned from a good friend
Karen Swim says
@Steph, yes labels can constrict but they can also direct, guide and free. Some of the labels (for me anyway) do speak to who I am and not what I do. For example, for me when I say “I am a writer,” it is because writing for me is not what I do but colors how I see and interact with the world, it is not my job but an element of my personage. It is not the act of writing for I am a writer without pen, paper or keyboard, if that makes sense. Same with running, it is not an act that I engage in and am disconnected from but one that is integrally a part of what makes me tick and provides yet another piece to what makes up the sum total of my being. It is an interesting discussion, eh? 🙂
@ Lillie, words that bring joy to my heart from one of my favorite writers and editors. Thank you. 🙂
Lillie Ammann says
Karen,
This is a powerful and moving piece.
steph says
I have to agree with Brad on this one. I don’t like labels, either, but it’s hard not to continuously try to define oneself, not to forge an identity among others. I think labels feed the ego, and by trying to shed yourself of them you become even greater. The things we label ourselves are simply things we do or love or hate. They are not actually who we are. I’d argue that we are much, much more than the sum of the labels we give ourselves.
I am not a writer; I write. I’m not an editor; I edit. I am not Canadian; I live in Canada. I am not a runner; I run.
What I am is my soul.
stephs last blog post..Making a List and Checking it Twice
Karen Swim says
@Brad, *giggle* I second that rant! Yes, another side to the label issue are those that others attach to you, but that’s a post for another day, eh. 🙂
@Joanna, coming from the master who has encouraged, mentored and inspired, “thank you” seems insufficient but I can think of no greater words my dear friend. Thank you.
@Friar, lol, now I have made you publicly out your age. Here’s a link to the song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1Q7cP3ij5g
Rock on Canada! 🙂
@Roland, ROFL! Only you could beat me at my own game. LOL! I love it!
Roland Hesz says
Interesting post. Many labels, and many more.
However I take you up on your dare:
“I dare you to box me in and define me with one label. ”
Karen Swim
^_^
Friar says
Okay (I know I’m dating myself), but this makes me think if that famous song by the Five Man Electrical Band:
Sign Sign everywhere a sign
Blocking out the scenery breaking my mind
Do this, don’t do that, can’t you read the sign?
Friars last blog post..How to be a Tortured Intellectual
Joanna Young says
Karen, you are an inspiration.
Words fail me beyond that.
Thanks for the explanation that it was written as a spoken word piece. It is *full* of your power, and I think that’s why it has such a powerful effect
Joanna
Joanna Youngs last blog post..20 Ways to Disrepect My InBox
Brad Shorr says
I don’t like labels. They are simplistic and they trivialize people. In business, labels pigeon hole people and stifle creativity.
Wow, I feel much better getting that off my chest!
Brad Shorrs last blog post..What I Learned from My Friends about Advertising