Numbers

“Be yourself.” You hear everyone say. You listen to this bit of advice, knowing it is meant to encourage you, but you’ve got a bit of an issue…

‘Who am I?’ you may ask.  You may even think that you are defined by something other than who you really are.

Numbers. Many people feel and act as if numbers define who they are.

Identities are based on security and ID numbers, grades, time, money, followers, and countless others.

People feel and act like these numbers are really who they are. They decided that if these numbers are not what they want them to be it directly communicates to them that they are not good enough and are not who they should be.

One big number that high school students define themselves by is the percent they have in each class. If a person wants a 95% or is surrounded by peers with 95%s, but gets a 75%, then that person feels incompetent, irrelevant.

Another is the ever-changing number of followers one has on any given social media account. If they have x amount of followers they are finally ‘cool enough’ and can accept themselves based alone on that number.

Yet another number defining both girls and guys in our generation is the number they see on the scale. They believe that to be pretty, or manly depending on the gender, they have to be a certain weight. If they do not see the number that they want to then they cannot be happy with themselves.

Some people establish this method, the numbers method, to avoid looking at a real person, whether it be because it scares them, bothers them, or just takes them too much effort to consider a person organically.

Looking deep into others and ourselves is crucial to discover who we are. We are not just a number, we are so much more.

We are the feelings we have, the things we love, what we believe in, what we work for. Whether that number is high or low, whether it is good or bad, we are so much more than its magnitude.

The challenge is to not pay attention to these numbers. Each individual needs to examine these qualities within themselves and use their personality and character to determine their personal identity. Once they find that, they cannot stop there. They need to keep going and see that everyone is defined by these things, so people must dig deeper in others and look at them for who they really are, not through the numbers that we are conditioned to in this society.

I am not the 85% that I have in chemistry. I am not the 102% that I have in world history, even though I am happy with it. I am the joy I feel when I am with my true friends and family. I am a girl who loves to write fiction. I am a Christian who is proud to put her identity in Christ. And most of all, I am still defining myself as I grow every day.

Now, the real question is who are you?

Video filmed and edited by Aliyah Corrao

Check out opposing opinion by Priyanka Shreedar.