We live in a world that says our worth is determined by sets of numbers. Some numbers should be small, while others need to be quite large, according to society. If we are continuously consumed with mere numbers, we will never be able to appreciate ourselves or others for who we really are. You are a lot of wonderful things, but you are not just a set of numbers.
You are not the numerical value written and circled in red ink at the top of your History paper. You are not your GPA nor the number of people that speak to you in that excessively large classroom. Instead, you are the hard work and effort you put into your school work, the brainpower necessary to absorb new information, and the kindness displayed when you share notes with an absent classmate.
You are not the number of friends that you have or even the amount of invites you receive each weekend. You are the endless laughter that you share with the friends you deeply cherish. You are the sum of advice that you present to your heartbroken or overjoyed, busy or lonely, just-need-an-ear friends who would not trade you for the world. You are the memories that will last a lifetime, not the number of people you share them with.
You are not the amount of money that is in your bank account. You aren’t the hours you work each week or the number of times you can go on a shopping spree every month. However, you are the determination which is crucial to solving problems and the understanding that you display when working with difficult colleagues. You are the generosity you possess and your willingness to give of your time and resources.
You are not the numbers on a scale or the figure on the tag of your cute skinny jeans. You are not the amount of calories you do or do not consume, the grams of fat in your diet, or the number of meals you ingest each day. You are the stories shared when gathered around the dinner table and the energy you feel when your heart is pumping from exercise. You are the glow that comes from your smile. You are beautiful and radiant in every way.
You are not the number of likes you receive on your Instagram post and certainly not the quantity of boys that comment heart eyes or the fire emoji on your selfies. You aren’t the number of times you are retweeted, the number of Facebook friends you have, or the plethora of cute outfits pinned onto your Pinterest boards. Rather, you are the exciting moments that do not have time to be captured with a camera. You are the way your eyes sparkle when the light hits them just right and the wit that you freely share with the world.
You are the books you stay up past midnight to read, the songs you sing when the windows are rolled down and the wind is gusting wildly through your hair. You are the sweet sound of your laughter and the tears you shed when someone you love is hurting. You are the cities you adventure to and the future you dream of. You are all these things and more, but you are absolutely not just a set of numbers.
The world tells you that your worth is defined by numbers, but you are worth more than that.
