It is Time to Cut the Tags Off.

When you get back home from shopping after buying a brand new outfit, oftentimes you cut off the tags because it fits and you are ready to wear it and so excited to show it off. It is something that is supposed to be new and exciting but there are some new beginnings that we are afraid of or just feel like too much to bear at the moment. You were so ready to cut the tag off of your jeans but the tag still stays on your throw pillow, decorative basket, or the little tag that is hidden inside of your zipped backpack. It can just be human nature and forgetting that the tag is still there, realizing that we will cut it off eventually. Battling with depression, we see these tags and we acknowledge them every day, but doing something about it to remove them is a task that is too daunting and exhausting. Why are the tags still there? They are no longer serving a purpose.

When I was starting my sophomore year of college, I was preparing to move into my first apartment. I thought that this was going to be my real chance to find myself, gain independence, and find my purpose. Months passed and I still felt hopeless as if nothing had changed for the better. I would look around at my cluttered room every day and notice the countless amount of tags that were still on my decorations because it was just too much for me to take care of at the time. I had scissors on my desk but that didn't change me doing anything about it. I have never identified as a “lazy” person. I've always been known to be very driven, ambitious, and determined. Fast forward to the time that I made it through my gap semester and found an apartment where I'll be living alone. Having my own space just felt so liberating and I felt that after all that time of self-reflection, I will be able to start over and be excited about life again. As I was moving into my apartment in Columbia, I was eagerly taking all the decorations out of the tote boxes and placing them where I wanted. On some items, something was still there that was no longer serving its purpose. My tags were still attached to so many pillows, baskets, and so much more. I remember looking at my mom and telling her that it is time for me to finally take the tags off and that this task will not be too much to bear anymore. I grabbed my scissors with ease and started cutting at the plastic that bound the price tags and effortlessly threw them in the trash.

Battling with mental illness feels like baggage that just lingers over you and you feel like your life would just be so much better if it was never there. This was my sign of a new beginning and a new excitement for the beautiful life that I am living. There were so many difficult decisions this past year and my method of making those decisions was to remove from my life what was no longer serving and fulfilling me. I am telling you to cut your tags off too. Take away all limiting beliefs and the feeling that you have to live to be pleasing and impressive to the eye of other people. When my mom left my apartment after helping me move in, I just remember crying tears of joy because I felt that this would finally be my time to feel like myself again. I have felt this great sensation of warmth just go through my body telling me that everything was going to be okay and that I am in the right place at the right time. There are no tags to hold me back today. But in the future, if I find a tag, I will not be paying the price of letting it win.