Tom Koutsos is a football player and we want to know if he is going to ever play again, but have we ever thought of him as just a nice guy, how much his injury might hurt, or the pain he may be going through physically and mentally?

Walter Wendler is the chancellor of Southern Illinois University, but do we ever think of him as a well-dressed businessman that might actually agonize over the tough decisions he makes every day?

Humans, and especially Americans, constantly label things around them. Usually we don’t see beyond the labels we place on someone or something. The work, sport, or position a person is involved with does not always define that person.

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Though I happen to work in the sports information office writing press releases for athletic teams and can often be found working at SIU sporting events, I do think about many other things unrelated to sports.

Recently, a Daily Egyptian sports writer, a self-described sports junkie, asked me why I write my column. How could I write a non-sports column when I work with sports all day?

I replied that I had begun the column prior to being employed at the sports information office, but after further thought, I decided that I write my column for much more than that – I care about the world, the people in it, and what happens to both.

The point I’m trying to make is that we should look at people as more than just what they do or where they work. We should see people as the mental and emotional creatures that we are. Get to know people on a deeper level than what you may see each day.

We, as human beings, are special and complex, not robotic objects that function on one or two levels. I’m sure the Daily Egyptian sports writer that asked me why I write my column is much more than just a sports writer.

Let’s reach out to those people and things around us, getting to know them for who and what they truly are. Allow yourself to surpass the labeling phenomenon that plagues us all. Who knows-you might gain a new friend or learn something you didn’t know.