Why Millennial Moms Refuse To Be Defined By A Single Label

As a millennial mom, I find myself attempting to balance many different roles.

I am employed full time while also navigating a new lane of entrepreneurship, in addition to recently receiving my acceptance letter to further my education. I am married with three children, I love the Lord, I value my relationships as a daughter, sibling, and friend. Although I juggle all of the above and more, the endless labels attached to my responsibilities still do not quite paint the picture of who I am as a woman.

I like to consider myself as trustworthy, clever, quirky, generous, and forever open to learning new things. Generations before us can’t quite grasp how women like us can be a family woman, take business trips, and still make time for leisure and travel. We literally squeeze out every minute of the day to avoid the “settle” bug. We don’t want to settle for labels – we want to have a multifaceted lifestyle. With that being said, here is why millennial moms refuse to be defined by a single label:

We want to live a life of passion and purpose.

It is an unfortunate habit for many women to start spewing off labels as if that is the only reason for their existence when asked “Who are you?” or “What do you do?” I am more than my current title or circumstance. I am not just a wife and a mom. Yes, those are very important roles that I value deeply, but my heart does not beat only to be a label. I am more than a registered nurse and a new small business owner. My worth does not only lie in my employment status or my accomplishments. I like to believe that I was created for a greater purpose and I have every intention on making a purposeful impact on a generation by living a life of fulfillment and not settling for what society says I should be or do as a woman.

We’re too experimental to be tied down to one way of living.

The new aged millennial mom is bound to have her hands in a variety of pots. More often than not, we’re taking a business call, making dinner, posting on social media, supporting our spouse, cleaning the house, and singing along to videos with our kiddo at the same time. We are the true definition of a multi-tasker and we must try everything once. Whether it’s a new vegan kid-friendly meal or an alternative sleep method, we are constantly trying new things. As Coretta Scott King once said, “I hope someday people will see Coretta. Often, I am made to sound like an attachment to a vacuum cleaner: the wife of Martin, then the widow of Martin, all of which I was proud to be. But I was never just a wife, nor a widow. I was always more than a label.”

Labels mean nothing when the circumstance changes.

Mrs. Coretta Scott King’s quote reminds me that my “labels” can be changed in the blink of an eye. If I work so hard at earning this education and I never get the promising career, then how valuable is my label? Or if I lose my job then what? What about my family? Some women are so label-oriented that they disregard who they truly are, they press pause on their dreams and often times they miss out on their ultimate purpose in life because they’re so focused on chasing a label instead of being a human being first. As I continue this new journey of my life, I vow to not just be another woman with nothing to offer beyond the surface of my labels. Instead, I choose to be an intentional influencer of peace, love, positivity, joy, and harmony in everything that I do. I too, like Coretta, hope that someday people will see millennial moms for who we are as a complete being and not only acknowledge us for our labels.