Summary

The author reflects on their experience in the Greek army, realizing that while labels can be statistically accurate, they are not absolute as people's core nature shines through regardless of uniformity, and exposure to diverse individuals can broaden one's understanding and perspective.

Abstract

The author, after serving in the Greek military, shares a profound realization about the nature of labels. Initially, they acknowledge the tendency to categorize people based on appearances and behaviors, a practice they found to be statistically supported. However, the military experience, where everyone dons the same uniform and follows the same routine, revealed that a person's essence remains unchanged. Despite the homogenization, the author observed that individuals' true characteristics, whether toxic or bright, continue to manifest. This exposure to a wide array of personalities allowed the author to break free from their previous social bubble, which limited interactions to a narrow spectrum of 'average' people. The author emphasizes the importance of embracing diversity, suggesting that by doing so, one can gain valuable insights, expand their horizons, and choose friends more wisely.

Opinions

The author believes that while labeling can be statistically accurate, it is not an absolute method for understanding people.
They assert that a person's eyes can reveal their true character, implying that superficial changes like clothing cannot mask one's inherent nature.
The military experience is seen as a social equalizer, stripping away external indicators of identity and forcing individuals to confront the

LABELS

A Realization About Labels

You put the same clothes on everyone, and everyone feels the same.

I went to the army last year — it’s compulsory in Greece. While the experience was nothing unforgettable, I came out of it wiser.

Living in a small city for most of your life usually means living in a social bubble that you ignore. I’m 24 and I left home when I was 18. 6 years later, I finally feel like knowing how to read people.

Putting labels on people isn't right, but statistically, it is.

Usually, when I see a person that looks bad to me, he is. The eyes never lie.

And that's where the military comes in.

When you go there, you take off your clothes. You put the same camo-uniform that the army wears. You take off your expensive watch, your piercings, and hide your real identity.

The first days there were good. We all had the same goal, surviving meaningless training. People live the same stress as you, so they hide. They don't want to be there, like you.

But the eyes, they never change. A toxic person is still toxic, I could see it.

I realized that people can’t hide their truest form.

Even if you put them in the same room, with the same clothes, same daily routine.

But when you see labels, It’s not only good and evil. It’s about weird, antisocial, lonely, social, outcast, etc.

Labels that I didn't have the chance to socialize with, in the past.

Remember, I lived in a social bubble for too long. People there, tend to be average because the extreme is judged.

Those people, their eyes were bright. They want the same thing us you. A peaceful life. No alarms and no surprises (The chance to quote Radiohead here is priceless for me).

If there was a pool with labels in it, I only had a few. But by being with 500 different people in the training camp, I had the chance to fill that pool with a bunch of labels.

By mixing the pool, I understood that we need to mix the pool, indeed.

Labels exist, even if you don't like to put them on people. You can use them to your advantage to pick your friends, friends are important. I used to have friends with limited labels. Labels that I chose to have in my life.

But I had the blessing to mix them. See different ones too. And they were just as bright as any other label. I broadened my horizons. And I feel wiser.

Try to overcome your fear of different people and put them in your life. You will gain perspective.