MacKenzie Kern grew tired of being stereotyped as a hippy, and decided to do something about it

MacKenzie Kern is a 13 year old student who's got it right. She's tired of people labeling each other, so she's doing something to raise awareness and hopefully help people be a little kinder to each other.

Someone wearing black clothes and dressing in dark makeup is a "goth." Someone wearing brand name clothes such as American Eagle or Aeropostale is a "prep." Someone wearing bright, flamboyant colors is a "scene."

And then there are the "skaters," who ride skateboards, the "jocks," or athletes, the "nerds" and the "emos," or emotionally troubled, says Kern, 13.

"You're stereotyping people just because they dress, act or look a certain way or listen to certain kinds of music," says Kern, who has been called a "hippie" for wearing clothes such as a T-shirt with a peace symbol on the front. "People have labeled me and I've labeled others, which is something I'm not proud of."

That's why Kern has taken a stand against "labelism" and is trying to convince others her age to do the same.

Every day since March 27, she has worn a white belt around her waist in school and out in public. From one end of that belt to the other are signatures, almost all of which have been put there by children ages 12 to 16 who support her stance.

To me, that's a very cool, very unique idea. She could have simply complained about it to her friends, or she could have let it bother her and done nothing at all. Instead, she takes a little bit of initiative and a little bit of creativity, and suddenly her picture and her story are in the newspaper and people are paying attention to what she has to say.

It's too bad not everyone agrees with me, though. It seems there's a few people who have, sadly, decided to try and discourage her.

"I've had both students and teachers tell me I'll never really change anything because most people will go on labeling," she says. "I've even had students who signed my belt tell me they want their signatures removed because they changed their minds. So, I scrubbed off five signatures, which took me back down to 100."

But that won't stop Kern from trying to raise awareness among others her age.

"There are kids who know labelism is wrong, but don't speak out because they're too afraid of not fitting in," she says. "You don't know what kind of pain some kids might be going through in life and then to be labeled on top of that. No one should be made to feel like they're not as good as anyone else just because other people think they fall into a category."

People, especially teachers, who tell a young woman like MacKenzie who's taking some initiative to do some good that they'll never make a difference are exactly what's wrong with our society.

You know, maybe she won't be as successful as she hopes, but at least she's giving it a shot, and if she gets through to even a few people, or even one person, then she's already made a huge difference. Teachers, along with parents, are the building blocks of our society and should always encourage acts of social responsibility.

Hopefully for MacKenzie she won't let their pessimism get her down and she'll keep putting out her wonderful message. There are plenty of us out here who appreciate what she's trying to do.

In fact, consider this blog post my virtual signature on her belt.