I need to put a label on it.

How it annoys me that I am part of a society where I feel such a great need of labeling everything and especially everyone. Because I do.

I believe that I always give people I meet for the first time an honest chance to show me who they are, without me analyzing too much in advance. I want to greet new people with an open mind and see them as a blank piece of paper -- regardless of their appearance, their accent or what it may be.

And I think I do at least pretty well, trying not to judge. But it always comes to a point when I need to know certain things. It's not that I only want to know, out of curiosity, but I need to know in order to proceed.

Why is it so important for us to determine whether a person we talk to is a man or a woman? Why do we feel the need to define our relationships with other people? Are we friends? Are we enemies? Are we lovers? When do I become your girlfriend and how will that change the way we see each other? Where do you come from and what do you know? I certainly need to know, to understand how I will continue talking to you.

How it annoys me that I need to label everything. But I do. I need to know. Are you a man or a woman?