Katrina Khan Roberts reflects on the complexities of gender and digital life.

"The person I am—on and offline, to myself and to others—cannot be defined by labels."

I've found myself being labelled in so many ways: daughter, wife, mother, advocate, artist, writer, volunteer... Too many to list. I've found myself labelling myself as well: anxious, contrite, selfish, too much, too little... I think of these labels as knives cutting away parts of my identity, whittling me into a shape sometimes different depending on the angle you look at me from.

Sometimes I feel like they are pencils of different colors, the pigments blending and shifting depending on who is holding them. I wonder which pencils should matter more, the ones I hold or the ones others swipe and wield.

Now there is a new type of swiping happening. As a millennial, I remember living in a time without the internet being a daily necessity. The screen time I had was one hour per day after school to watch cartoons. In my youth, I learned exponentially and developed alongside the internet. I was there to listen to the whisper of people online grow to the deafening roar we hear today. I was able to happily meander through the burble of MySpace and Hi5 and then suddenly I reached the hurricane tossed sea of social media today.

The person I am, on and offline, to myself and to others, can't be defined in labels. I reminded myself recently to not be swept away in the torrent of what I see online, of the worry of needing to be perceived by eyes separated from me by a screen. Humans are amazing, but I feel like we have complicated this entire lived experience. I now hope to reconnect with nature more than anything, craving simple pleasures, good quality basic needs and spending time and being present with my little ones.

Sometimes, the scroll and swipe catch me though. I seek inspiration from other women I see online, but sometimes I find self doubt. Other times I find a shocking jealousy that I didn't know I had inside. The difficulty comes when those ugly feelings carry beyond the screen and into my real life.

There are so many stories, and the internet offers access to all of them. The key is to manage what influences you and your life. Your labels, hashtags, and sense of self-worth don’t have to be tied together; they can all mix into the same pot, simmering and swirling in the heat of transformative communication.

Women are already given so much to shoulder and carry. Sometimes the burdens become part of our bodies and minds. We will always continue the battle between other and self.

Today, I chose to see the brighter side of the screen. We don't know what the future will bring, if it will be more outside or in. All I know is that we will be human and to be human is to feel. I hope we can put these feelings into communicating a better future that is more inclusive, kind and inspiring. We can build it together, one word at a time.

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This story was published as part of World Pulse's Story Awards program. We believe every woman has a story to share, and that the world will be a better place when women are heard.