Your Worth

Dignity. A sense of pride in oneself. It might be hard for someone to see their own; however, it should exist. Your self-worth will stay with you, and time over time, you might find it fluctuating. But, if there is one thing I've learned as a teenager, it's that we must be head strong. We must feel good about ourselves. We must be confident and take on whatever endeavors that lie in front of us. Who cares if someone doubts you? Who cares if you fall down? What matters is that you get up and keep getting up. You have a value and people should know better than to mess with it.

Sometimes I feel like this happens when we compare ourselves to others. There is no doubt that our generation of kids are crazy talented. I am proud of be among these ambitious and prodigious teenagers. I also know that it is intimidating when kids our age are able to accomplish so much. You start to wonder what it is that you are doing wrong or missing out on. We are both given the same privileges, but how does she succeed like that? I have never been deprived or held back, but how is he able to achieve at that level. Sure, there are some kids who are just geniuses. It starts to get to you. The fact that you could be doing more but you are stuck among the "ordinary" crowd. Being different used to be humiliating, but now, those are the people who are noticed for the good that they do. However, you are not in control of other people. You are only in control of yourself. If you want to accomplish things, work hard and go for it! But, don't feel like you are worse than them. I think it's just hard to remember that if all of us were above average, there would still be kids who are somehow even better than that. 

Realizing that you are important is the first step. Simply, you need to feel good about yourself. You need to love and motivate yourself before you can succeed. We are always wound up in getting the results before we can celebrate, but how can we get there without the motivation? Dwelling on the bad things and the failures that keep occurring will consume you. You will find that you are digging yourself out of a hole that is miles and miles too deep. But, you will try anyway. You won't give up until you get there. You are not defined by your failures. It's your reaction to them that shapes your character. Don't ever feel sorry for yourself. If you want to achieve something, you will as long as you are honest with yourself regarding the amount of effort that you put in to your desired goal.

Just remember that loving yourself is not the same has having a big ego. Being there for yourself is different than thinking that you are better than everyone else. Taking care of yourself is being your own number one fan, accepting who you are, pushing yourself to succeed, reminding yourself that you are loved, and by doing so you can inspire others to do the same. You aren't putting others down in the process. You are just expressing who you are and that you are important. You were meant to be here, 100%. If you find yourself constantly proving yourself to others, you have lost track of your own worth. "When you learn how much you're worth, you will stop giving people discounts" Know you you are, no one should be able to take that from you. You give people your best and you only deserve the best. Now no one can make you feel worthless.

-N

Be the Bigger Person

Pettiness. Especially when things don't go as expected, pettiness is something that consumes us. That is, if we let it. We all get angry, we all get hurt, and we all have thought about firing back. Retaliation and revenge never looked good when someone is hating on you or putting you down. When people act out, they are trying to get a reaction out of you. They are trying to provoke you. Sometimes they don't even have the nerve to do it to your face, so they decide to hurt you indirectly, slowly getting on your nerves. How do you react? As satisfying as it might seem in the moment, don't go after them. They are not worth your time or energy. Choose the path of one who remains calm and overcomes the difficult times. 

If we choose to go after them, all we do is become them. What we don't realize is that we are stooping to their level. The one getting bullied becomes the bully, and that's how quick the tables turn. Trust me, this is the last thing you want. These people want to see you suffer. In fact, if you react such that you are unbothered, then they are not fulfilled in their purpose of putting you down. Think about how they think they are making themselves look better than you. At this moment in time, it is your self control that is your superpower. We must be able to use our control and resist the temptation of payback. 

Sometimes staying silent and moving on is better. However, we don't have to listen to them. Being silent doesn't make us weak. We are mature enough to accept that there are people in the world who lack the confidence in themselves, making them take their anger out on other people. By being silent, we are not accepting the harsh things they say. We do not succumb to the blows that fire out of their mouths. They have not found the peace within to let you go. They still have some connection to you and are completely unaware of how they are impacting you. Their loss.

As tough as it might be, focus your energy on moving forward. They might shoot you dirty looks, or just flat out ignore you, but don't let if affect you. Make sure you take just the right amount of time to get over them, but after that, there is no reason for you to be hurt. You deserve so much better. You will find that group of people who make you forget about retaliating. They value your presence and you are genuinely happy. You will soon realize that you have never smiled more, laughed more, or felt more alive with any other group of people. Surround yourself with these people who make you value each day. You are nothing like the people who came after you. You are so much better. You knew when enough was enough, and you made the great choice of being the bigger person. And look at you now! 

-N