College so far has been a whirlwind of an experience. I sure I’m not the only one who can agree that a majority of our life lessons are learned in the prime of our twenties (plus or minus a few years).

It’s important to note that as college students, we can easily become oblivious to the facts of nature, and one of the most evident of all is the concept of self-worth.

Often times, I witness girls and boys redeeming their social status, all while completely letting go of their dignity.

But why?

Personally, I don’t see the point in this. It’s tough for me to comprehend giving up self-worth for temporary consequences, that later turn into bad reputations and low self esteem.

The dictionary defines self-worth as the “sense of one’s own value and worth as a person.”

In psychological terms, it’s understood that self-worth and self-esteem are two very different things. Self-worth should be less about measuring yourself based on external actions, and more about valuing your inherent worth as a person.

In simpler terms, self-worth is about who you are, not about what you do.

As mentioned above, as students studying in higher education, we blatantly have a high self-esteem issue in our contemporary society. Everyone yearns to be better than the other, and competition seems to be what makes the world go round.

Fair enough, but when losing sight of your responsibilities to yourself and to your body, red flags emerge everywhere.

Eleanor Roosevelt once said, “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent,” and her message hit hard for me. You are in control of how you feel and even though certain factors can jeopardize that, it’s crucial to adjust and take those circumstances with a grain of salt.

Know your worth.

Know the difference of what you’re getting and what you deserve.

Make sure you don’t start seeing yourself through the eyes of those who don’t value you. Know your worth even if they don’t. Your value doesn’t decrease based on someone’s inability to see your worth.