At this point in my still-developing and probably pretty ignorant life, I tend to take on the perspective that nothing really matters. This isn’t really a spiritual or religious statement, just a fairly objective—or at least, in my opinion—assessment of my own life and the context in which I exist. I don’t think things happen for a reason, nor do I believe in any inherent purpose for anything, really. Luckily, with being in my last semester of high school, awaiting responses from prospective schools’ financial aid offices, this takes some of the pressure off.

This is not to say that a lack of real purpose cannot (and is not) substituted with an artificial one. As one of the great modern lyricists said himself “Nothing matters, so it doesn’t matter if nothing matters.” Other people seem to think that things matter, and that things have purpose, and that things are important. My artificial and self-proclaimed purpose from time to time has been to help other people chase or indulge in their own concepts of purpose and worth. More than that, it has been a mission to solidify a healthy self-confidence and love within a person with which they have the power to change and empower themselves. Nothing matters, so why should it matter if I help people indulge in their own belief that things matter?

While I’m personally certain that my perspective is correct and nothing matters, it also doesn’t matter if I’m wrong, or if anybody else is right, and so my perspective, effectively, is no more or less valid than any other perspective. This might seem a bit convoluted and confusing, but essentially, all of this means that although I don’t think anything matters, I treat everyone I can under the assumption that their perspective is very different than mine and every bit as valid.

What I do in my life probably won’t change anything or matter at all in the long-run, and probably nothing I do will really mean anything in the grand scheme of things. That’s more or less logical. To a person who has had a bad day and believes in reason and purpose however, a simple extension of kindness might mean everything.

Perspective is always crucially important. Just because we’re stuck looking at life through our own eyes, that doesn’t mean that other perspectives aren’t valid or important. This toleration and even sharing of perspectives is an intimate and expansive form of thinking that is undoubtedly beneficial to anyone.

Nothing matters. That’s why it’s important (to me, at least) to treat everything as if it does matter, because everything matters (because nothing matters).