By: Alyssa Huey
As school comes into view, so do the worries about opinions, popularity, and creation of expectations that are way too high. For me, every first day of school was a fashion show that would set the bar for the rest of the school year. This outfit would determine my ability to make friends, have the most boys like me, and somehow get me the best grades ever. How could an outfit hold so much power over my own abilities or things I couldn’t control? It would result in me feeling even worse about myself than I did before the perfect outfit. I had created the perfect entrance, perfect conversation, perfect jealous looks from others, and the perfect first day of school in my head that I had also made myself think that anything else made me less of a person. I was relying on everything else but myself.
Do you make assumptions about exactly how different this next school year is going to be? How often are you disappointed in the reality of your misconception?
Even after my first day of school days seem to be behind me, I still have days that feel like the first day of school. There are way too many times that I let everybody around me be a part of how I think about myself and decide exactly what is to come for me. Deciding that others’ opinions should not be the deciding factor to who I am and what I can achieve is a day to day struggle that doesn’t go away.
How have I taken the steps to becoming comfortable with first days and who I am?
Don’t assume the worst is happening. Too many times we assume exactly what others are saying about us or thinking. Then we allow these misconstrued opinions from other people dictate what we assume about ourselves, before we even know who we are. A never-ending cycle of assumptions, misconceptions, and conclusions that we form then decide what we can achieve. This should not be the case. End the first day of school cycle.
I challenge you to enter this new school year, or the newest challenge in your life, without assuming anything or letting others’ opinions define who you are. Let how you empower those around you to reach their full potential, help you reach your full potential without letting anything but your own power decide where your potential lies.