In a therapeutic writing class I am taking, one of the members shared that she did a Cluster of labels that were given to her from a young age. A Cluster is a writing technique also known as mind-mapping or making a brainstorming web. To create a Cluster, you write a key word or phrase in middle of the page, circle it, then free associate and write words and phrases that come to mind, circling and connecting them to the key word in the middle or to each other as their relationships appear. Let yourself write and connect words freely, until you’ve run out of words or you feel a shift. Then look over the Cluster and write a reflection about what you notice or learn from looking at it, or what shifted for you.
Inspired by my classmate’s experience, I did the same for myself. I created a Cluster of labels that have been ascribed to me and/or I have taken on from a young age (both positive and negative), and then I wrote about each one, reframing and reinterpreting it to reflect the truth of how I know myself. For example, one of the labels was “not good with kids,” a label I’ve believed because I’m not a “fun” person who loves to babysit or entertain kids. But I recognized that actually, I am “good” with kids in my own way: I take them seriously, speak to them respectfully, give them personal attention, have patience when I read or play games with them. Just because I don’t match the world’s image of “good with kids,” doesn’t mean that label tells the truth of who I am.
It was an enlightening and unburdening activity!
