Can you tell me
who you are
without naming
your occupation?
We have become accustomed
to categorizing people
according to their occupation,
and valuing people
according to their category.
But for you to tell me
that you are a farmer
does not tell me
who you are.
It only tells me
how you spend
some of your time.
For I have yet to meet
two farmers
--or teachers, or doctors,
or salesmen, or anything—
who are exactly alike.
It may be convenient
to put you into a category,
but it may blind me
to the real you
and to your value
as a person.
You are not a category.
You are a person!
What kind of person are you?
Can you forget the categories
other people put you into,
and tell me who you are?
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