Labels Are Lible

I've been reading a lot about labels lately. Unintentionally, like for school, and a book that I was interested in at the library. They both talked a lot about names people place on others, as a stereotype. For my sociology class, we had to read "Teenage Wasteland" by Donna Gaines. In this article, it showed 4 teenagers who committed suicide because they felt that life wasn't a game they could win. They were the "burnouts" of their school, misunderstood, even after their deaths their town blamed it on the label, they were "burnouts" it was bound to happen. Gaines discusses how social structure is bound by labels, schools track students by ability. Cliques form based on subcultures and interests like nerds, athletes, gamers, etc. The "burnouts" are grouped together, leaving them stranded in the so-called teenage wasteland. If people start to feel lost in a label, unable to rise from their forced reputations, it leaves them helpless. 
For fun, I started reading a book called Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo. The main character Galaxy Stern has always been able to not only see ghosts but feel them as well. She has always been marked as a weird girl, but in middle school one of the popular girls started to befriend her, they became relatively close. One day, there was a school trip to a butterfly sanctuary, before they were about to leave the sanctuary, Galaxy had to use the bathroom. While in the bathroom, she finds out that not only has she started her period but that there is a male ghost in the stall with her. As she's walking out of the stall, the ghost grabs her and smashes her head into the sink, and begins harassing her. When her teacher, along with her friend walks in to find out what's taking so long, they find Galaxy on the floor with blood everywhere. From that day forward, Galaxy would never be normal again, she started to act accordingly to her label. She became a burnout, went to drugs and alcohol, and started hanging out with the wrong crowd. In the end, she was saved by people who knew about her abilities and helped her, but that is fiction. A lot of the time people aren't saved, and these names are the reason for their damnation. It made me realize how necessary it is to try and understand people as a whole before you cast them as a role in society, a mark that is nearly impossible to overcome. I feel that these works will help me immensely down the psychology path I want to take, and hopefully, I will think twice before I label someone.
I'll keep you updated.
- Michelle

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