Multifaceted: Humans are Not Brands

"The first time I remember the term Brand, [in reference to myself], I was 15," Demi Lovato says in her upcoming documentary Child Star. Fifteen. Being dehumanized, being commodified...at fifteen.

No amount of statistics or data will ever convince me to transmute my very essence into dollars. The soul is integral to not only our selves, but the fabric of our shared humanity. The art that we produce is touched by magic; the magic of exploring ourselves through every possible contingency. The magic only achieved through pure action of the soul. The very talent which capitalism demands I turn over for pennies. The work for which the system breaks my back in order to squeeze out another shiny, dime.

LinkedIn may not seem the appropriate channel for the message that modern jobs may be stealing our souls (through the demand that we niche ourselves down to nothing but a brand). Yet, where is the message taken most seriously other than in the mouth of the whale? It's our last stop, and the train's next destination is going hundreds of miles per hour over a massive cliff. Listen. Absorb. Live.

I am a full-spectrum person. I am a rainbow, not monochrome. We are not fuel for the billionaire's bunkers. We are not a cog in the grinding machine of damnation. We are so much more. We are the essence of life.

To commodify myself is to resign myself to self-loathing. To sell out my authenticity is to crush my spirit. To abandon my life and freedom is to become a slave to exploitation.

Don't give yourself over to the wealthy overlords just to be crowned an influencer. Don't shackle yourself to the ideologies of this world. Think outside the box. Breathe in color. Exhale life. Cling to your humanity as though it were your most precious possession - because it is. Remember, you're not monochrome - you're a rainbow.