North Texas Daily

I know you are guilty of it, we all are. Like forgetting a person’s name we just met or randomly talking to ourselves, using zodiac signs has become a norm we often use to either label ourselves or others. The truth is they hold little to no weight as to who we are as people.

The things that shape our personality are our life experiences and about half of our parents’ DNA, according to a general psychology class I took. So whether you are being mean to someone or letting them walk all over you, it has nothing to do with how the stars are aligned and the date you just happened to be born on. 

Stop using your zodiac sign as an excuse to do what you want to others. Just admit you have things you need to work on within yourself and do that. Automatically associating a Scorpio with being manipulative or a Leo as arrogant and haughty takes away from who the person actually is. People are more than generalizations and stereotypes.

 Next time you need an excuse to defend a bad habit, don’t look to the stars. Look within yourself, how you treat others and specific experiences in your life. Birthdays are important in the sense that you made it to another year of life and that should be celebrated. What we don’t need, however, is another thing to tell us who we should be as people. 

I have met two completely different people who share the Cancer zodiac sign. If you are big into astrological signs and were to study them, you would guess that they were on two separate spectrums of the signs. So, If the “data” is so accurate, why don’t they act the same? The reason is that they grew up in different places, had different parents and their own ways of thinking. Slapping them with a label wouldn’t have helped me learn about them as individuals and, in a way, it would have hindered the progress of our friendship. Libras and Cancers are not supposed to be compatible. Still, I wouldn’t have wanted my first two friends at UNT to be anyone else.  

Zodiac signs have become so prevalent in pop culture. Many YouTubers have been making lists and uploading videos where they tell us what they hate and like about certain signs. They go through all 12 symbols and basically pick apart human nature based on their own personal vendettas and experiences. Are you telling me that there are over 7.5 billion people in this world and you are using what Tom and Suzy did to you to justify why you wouldn’t like me? That does not add up. 

To be honest, I sometimes look at the personality traits correlated to a Libra and see that it could be somewhat accurate. I do happen to be indecisive, but who isn’t at one point or another in their lives? I have a knack for avoiding confrontation but will I let that stop me from letting a person know when I feel disrespected? No, and I can almost guarantee that I am kind because of how I was raised, not by a rising moon or sun.

In reality, zodiac signs have become huge buffers for facing the truth when they should just be used for fun. A quick Buzzfeed quiz here and there, a random horoscope every now and then, but not a basis for you to jump to conclusions about a person you have never even spoken to. Our personalities are complex and complicated. They cannot and are not supposed to be narrowed down to an astrological symbol.

Featured Illustration by J. Robynn Aviles