Poop!

I got a degree in Sociology after failing to earn one in Geology. The whole discipline is about putting people into categories. Everyone categorizes. It helps us understand our surroundings. If we always looked at a situation as if it were completely new to us then aging and maturity might not be in our vocabulary unless we were referring to physical changes that occur as we age. Some people have an incredible ability to 'size people up.' They do this by being expert categorizers. They gained this talent by meeting and seeing a lot of different kinds of people. These experiences allow them to properly identify and subsequently categorize a person or people and deal with them accordingly.
My rants about being categorized are of a personal nature. I'm venting. I'm frustrated and sometimes worried that I'm seen as being worse than I actually am. I have this need to sometimes unnecessarily defend myself (refer to my blogger profile). I've been looked down on before and it made an impression. In fact, it's happened enough that perhaps I've grown defensive; I'm really not sure. If I were a mind reader I'd be sure and I'd probably be a lot different but since I'm not psychic I often worry about how I'm being perceived. Sometimes I imagine somebody talking about me after I'm gone and saying something derogatory about which they are mistaken. I've heard it too often to pretend it doesn't exist. And most importantly I've done it myself more than once. What I'm afraid I'm doing is projecting my own secret judgementalness onto everyone else. But hey, maybe we're all like this. Maybe it's just a symptom of our species.