“Wow! Those girls contour their faces really well. They look really pretty. I should learn how to do that.”

That quote above is a thought that I caught myself thinking before class one night.

While the first sentences are true, they did look really pretty, the last one made me scold myself. I don’t particularly enjoy wearing makeup. Yes, I do wear a little bit of makeup every day, but for various reasons, I don’t put on a dramatic, full face every day.

So, if I have reasons for my makeup routine, why was I looking for more? The easy answer is that society tells us that the more makeup (to an extent), the more attractive and worthy we are. If you feel confident and truly enjoy wearing (or not wearing) the amount of makeup that you do, don’t change just because, simply stated, you think that people will like you better for it.

This issue arises in areas far deeper than physical appearance. We could discuss negative peer pressure, but an area often overlooked by writers and speakers is pressure from adults or authority to pursue higher education or positions. Whether it is a teacher or relative pushing you to get a degree that is different than what you want, or influential people in an industry encouraging you to pursue an opportunity, listen to yourself above all else.

Hold up; that is not to say to ignore adults and think that as teenagers or twenty-somes, we know best. However, nobody on Earth knows our hearts better than ourselves. While these adults or figures of authority may mean well, they may end up making us miserable. I gave in to this pressure once to pursue a position, and I ended up questioning everything because of it. In a time that I should have enjoyed and relaxed in, I was stressed and caught up in the moment. I never knew what it felt like to be immediately grateful for not receiving a position until I sought one solely out of pressure. I thought that if I didn’t try or didn’t succeed at this, I would loose respect and friendships.

Thankfully, I was wrong. In fact, the people who have stayed in my life through highs and lows only strengthened their relationships with me. This experience showed me that no matter what I was pressured to do, whether by society or by personal friends, the people who are supposed to be in my life will still love and respect me for listening to myself.