GPA, SAT scores, the number of experiences you have -- all these things and more define you as a number. As we grow up, from Pre-K through college and beyond, we go through life putting numbers on one another. It’s actually disturbing to watch how we fight to get to the top of our class or to fight to simply stay afloat in school and even the job market. We fight until our knuckles are sore and we are just too tired of trying. But why don’t we label others based on what they can do?

We go to school and we compete with each other every day. I went to a public school system with some of brightest men and women I know. However, I was never the one to take academics seriously because I physically experience a situation rather than read about it. We compete with each other to get the most stickers, best grades, roles in shows and in games, and positions in extracurriculars. It’s like "The Hunger Games: Life Edition."

I know this feeling all too well. I am not brilliant, but what I don't know I make up for in creativity and work ethic. It's quite funny, but once you start kindergarten, you're in the arena with every student in your class, similar to "The Hunger Games." You fight for all these things for your college application or even your resume? What use is that?

When I was younger, I had a speech impediment that my parents paid a significant amount of money to correct. When I started my education at Deasy Elementary in Kindergarten, it was all fun and games. But recently I have found my old report cards from that time. I received an A for this and an A for that. Maybe a B for tying my shoes (not really). As you grow up, you start to learn math, how to tell time, writing and reading, etc. I am not a left-brained child. I understand math and science as well as a sloth can tell the difference between his arm and a tree branch. But I excel in history, English, music, and those types of electives. That's who I am.

Now, fast-forward to middle school -- here is where it gets tough. You are required to meet certain expectations. By the end of the year, I would pray to be allowed to move on to the next grade level. Standardized testing is a marvelous thing. You're tested for ELA and math and, well, if you didn't pass, you're considered dumb. I had brilliant friends that I needed to hide from. I felt ashamed. I felt like I didn't belong because I wasn't in Honors English or Honors Math. That's when I realized my extracurriculars and strong work ethic can kick them out of the water.

I moved on to high school with the same group of kids but different teachers. I was in normal classes but still had to face those standardized tests called "The Regents," the term every New York kid despised. Now, like I said before, I am not great at math or science, so you can already tell this is where I struggled. But as you move up in grade level, the curriculum gets harder, and your time is split further between studying, extracurriculars, or sports. I was pretty involved, from musicals and shows to choir and DECA. I didn't have a lot of time. And now, students are expected to speak five languages, be president of the debate team, along with being in AP classes and valedictorian of their class.

I was ranked 112 out of 200-something. While applying to college, your SAT scores and AP scores mattered, but your work ethic didn't. What you did inside the classroom defined how successful you will become in college. Thankfully, I was able to find a college that looked past these struggles and saw me as an individual and a success. Thank you, Lycoming College.

But as I face the end of my senior year, I am starting to feel the pressure again. I look for graduate programs and see you still need that perfect GRE score, that perfect GPA score; you need to be a published author in a literary magazine and create an awe-inspiring Capstone project. OK, that's nice and all, but why do these things need to define who I am as a person?

Why does society measure our success in life by the numbers dictated by the education system? There's no simple answer, but as a society, we must change to look for success in one's work ethic instead of their GPA or the number of job experiences they have had.