It’s happened, hasn’t it? It seems like whenever you end up meeting someone new, formal introductions either make your first impressions… or break them. As you casually listen to the other person flaunt about how they’ve landed a stellar GPA in college (4.25 to be exact, just so you heard correctly), ended up working at a successful firm, and is swimming in a decent amount of money, you inevitably end up making frantic mental notes to yourself – “What do I say to that?”; “My GPA wasn’t that great… is it normal to flunk a few classes?”; “Oh my God, my salary isn’t even one-fourth of what his is!” The list can go on and on.

Our society has conditioned itself to believe that our self-being, our worth, is characterized by what grade letters we’ve earned on a piece of paper, how much money we make, or what type of job we’ve landed right after college. What have we come to? You can’t judge my, or anyone’s, individuality, personality, and sense of being by whatever is dictated on a piece of paper. There is much MORE to life than for us to define ourselves by numbers and figures.

Our experiences define us. Moments of sadness, anger, and joy are awakenings for us – these moments display who we truly are. The memories we make define us, not the grade that we earned in a Biology class we may never take again. Life is all about making mistakes, being unpredictable, and picking yourself up after you’ve fallen. Dust off your knees and be successful for YOURSELF, not for anyone else. You don’t have to be perfect. But most importantly, you don’t have to explain to anyone that your career, your grades, or your salary define you – because they don’t. There’s much more to life than that. Just open your eyes and see.