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I hate stereotypes.

Wait, that's a different blog! (shameless self-promotion, sorry.) In actuality, I feel like I've talked about the topic of stereotypes in previous years' entries numerous times. Stereotypes blatantly ignore the rich culture behind a body of people, many of which are incredibly positive and more importantly are just like the rest of us: indoctrinated, by-the-book Americans as our parents raised us. Rather than considering the lifestyle of the stereotyped, false judgement based on appearance and habits replaces most sentiment of fact. Obviously we have to be careful with what is considered a stereotype, as the line can be very thin on both sides of the spectrum. Stereotypes and racism can often be attributed, but it's a square-rectangle debacle, not all stereotypes are racist (etc.), while a negative attribute of a group can just as easily be mistaken as a stereotype. It's a thin line to walk, but these days it's pretty easy to tell what category of generalizations people make about each other.

Just take a look around.

Gosh, with all of the hysteria surrounding the U.S., there's fingers being pointed left and right on who the blame is towards, and often times a scapegoat ends up taking the burden in the end. These scapegoats are often those same stereotyped groups I mentioned before; the negative stigma surrounding these bodies of people make it easy to simply pass off the real issue at hand and say, "Eh, it's easier to blame someone else." Hell, Donald Trump is running an entire campaign based on this idealism -- place the blame elsewhere. Poor job market after a bad economy? Must be those damned Mexicans taking all our jobs! Build a wall! Domestic terrorism? Muslims! Let's not look for those inside the U.S. who are plotting against our nation, but Muslims are terror-fiends that must be stopped at all costs! Now, I'm not here to talk about politics (perhaps another time?), but it's a perfect example of scapegoating to promote a personal agenda...or blatant ignorance, which I could see both being the cause of in this case. But with that being said, let's transgress a little to a more personal note.

Where do you fall in stereotypes?

Chances are simply by existing, you are grouped into a stereotype. For Christ's sake, your gender more or less defines the kind of person that you're 'supposed' to be for the rest of your life, as far as social standards go. The color of your skin, your belief system, the activities you participate in -- stereotypes are everywhere. And again, as I mentioned in my opening, it's mostly the lack of knowledge and education on a group and instead replacing it with what we've been shown, the glamorization (so to speak) of the negative. Labeled a nuisance to the public at large simply because of affiliation that more often than not is not a choice. I've heard my fair share of stereotypical remarks, being red-headed, involved in a marching band program, and honestly just for being male. Pretty remarkable, in fact. But there's just one stereotype here that I want to bring up that irks me to no end.

The college student.

You know the kind! The social justice warrior who click-clacks at their keyboards all day, triggered by any issue you throw at them, needing a safe space for their verbal trauma while whining about their lives and how difficult they have it. I'm sure you know someone that's thrown around this terminology, loosely or verbatim. What really gets under my skin about this representation is...well, just look at it. Blanketed by prejudice and falsehood. I mean, come on, when has anybody EVER seen a college age student in real life who needed to separate themselves to feel "safe"? I'm convinced this has never happened. I hear about it all the time but I've never actually seen it, and hell, I AM a college student. But don't tell anybody who thinks this about you, because suddenly as soon as you try to defend your position on why none of that nonsense makes any sort of sense, you're offended, you can't take a joke, you're not in on it, you'e just one of them. Please. It's getting out of hand. So you know what I've been doing instead of arguing my case?

Breaking the stereotype.

You can't expect one person to change the perception of ignorance. Nor could you expect ten. Or one hundred. Probably not even one thousand. Ignorance is bliss as they say, and some people are just happy as can be. But what you can do is be a fair and just individual that lives their life beyond the bounds of what they're told, and instead re-invent the type of person you want to be seen as, not what others see you as. Defending yourself is now written off as being offended? Fine. They can throw as many hurdles and obstacles to denounce your affiliation as possible, but to quote another cliche saying, actions speak louder than words. Like it or not, everybody's watching. Your actions could define what others think about people like you potentially for the rest of their lives. Instead of complaining of the label slapped on me by society, I choose to take a stand and say, "College students are the brighter future of America's business leaders, working class, and government officials." through habit, not through tongues. An unwanted responsibility? Perhaps, but a responsibility nonetheless to just be a decent fucking human being.

Don't be just a label.