As fall is approaching, I am quickly reminded of all the reasons why it is my favorite season. The weather is just starting to change, it’s becoming acceptable to wear sweaters every day, and almost anything you can think of is now offered in pumpkin flavor; including the candle which sparked the thought for this article (pumpkin pie flavored of course).

When I was younger, I remember my grandmother telling me, “Some people think they can make their light shine brighter by blowing out other people’s candles.”

At the time, I assumed she was referring to literal candles, and made a promise to her and myself to let people blow out their own. It was in later years that I realized what she was really saying, and the overwhelming truth behind it.

Whether or not we would like to admit it, we all want to be accepted. Some hold this to a higher importance than others, but we all want to be liked to some degree. At times, it's easy to find ourselves in situations where we are putting someone else down in order to make ourselves look better, or for the glory to be placed on us. It's easy to be selfish and to put our self-image and how others perceive us before that of another person. It's easy to blow out someone else's candle in an attempt to make ours shine brighter.

But truth be told, people will always notice the fact that you've burned someone else before they notice how brightly you shine.

Someone else's happiness does not mean your sadness. Their success does not mean your failure. Their positivity does not make you negative. Their flaws do not make you flawless. You are your own person, capable of your own dimness or brightness. And no one else's light is in reflection of your own. So before you blow out someone else's candle, remember that yours is still shining.