Why do we define everything... everyone?

Why do we, as humans, define the world around us? We define everything from our everyday relationships, what type of person we are, the types of people we are compatible with... there are a million things that we define. People look at my A/V graft and I am defined as a dialysis patient, or look at me and tell me there is no way I am from a rough neighborhood because I do not fit the definition of women from that particular neighborhood... Everything, everyone, every situation has some sort of definition. And I must admit that I have fallen into that unseen trap of wanting to define everything and everyone around me. And it annoys me when I do it. But it makes me wonder if anyone else feels as I do... I hate being categorized in this group or that group because people assume that I should be this or that because of some outward appearance, flaw, etc. I hate being simply a dialysis patient. I hate being the atypical black girl because I am bilingual, because I love to try different foods, music, cultures, because I am open to trying new and different things. Many people in my own family think I am strange because I am the way that I am, but my mom has instilled a lot of those values in me, so I wonder if they thought she was a little strange as well? I love being the person that I am, but I don't like the defintions that come with being who I am. I know there is no such thing as normal, but people have a way of making you feel extremely strange if you don't, at least, conform to certain ideologies. Maybe all of this speaks to the fact that I may be a little uncomfortable with either some aspects of myself or the world around me... I don't know... I do know that I am tired of people pointing out my differences, as if I already don't know that I have a graft in my arm, that I am dialysis patient, that I enjoy listening to jazz, learning to salsa, and reading classic novels instead of doing whatever it is that a 26 year old in this area does (which mainly involves drinking and club hopping). But why do people use such interests to define who I am as a person. Those traits only make up a small part of who I am. I am me, sister, daughter, friend, dreamer, then I am a dialysis patient waiting for a transplant, and whatever else people see fit to define me as. Maybe I am thinking too much about what other people think and I should just focus on me, myslef, and the things that are going on in my life at the moment...