I walked through the double doors and was instantly overwhelmed by what seemed like millions of people. The loud laughter, talk of summer, and heavy Victoria’s secret body mist filled the room. I felt all eyes on me and my fear of upperclassmen kicked in. Stay calm; no one is looking at you. Although I had lost weight over the summer and felt very confident in my body, I still imagined myself as the elephant in the room. In reality, though, no one cared. Everyone was self conscious about their new haircut that the hairdresser botched, their butts not looking good in their shorts, or their clumped mascara being smudged. What if I don’t get invited to her party? What if the guy/girl I’ve had a crush on since the 5th grade never notices me? Selfish: The best word to describe high school kids.

But I was no angel either. I previously was a terrible student (almost failing middle school), a troublemaker, and only cared about my looks. I cared about keeping my reputation as a pretty, enthusiastic, and spontaneous character. I cared if my makeup smudged and if I had tiny blackheads on my nose. I cared about getting invited to parties, and was very hard on myself if I wasn’t invited. I cared so much about myself that I didn’t pay attention to what was really important. Being myself.

As my freshman year of high school went on, I realized that I didn’t have to care if people judged me for my makeup or hair. So what if upperclassmen gave me funny looks because of an uncoordinated outfit I wore that day? So what if I wasn’t invited to parties with alcohol I don’t want to drink anyways? So what if I wasn’t the thinnest girl in gym who could finish the mile in 8 minutes or less? It didn’t matter. Although, you might do things that might seem weird to others for a second, that’s only 1 in 62,208,000 seconds of your high school career. Move on, it doesn’t matter. It won’t matter when you go to college or get a job in the real world. You can impact the world and your future so much more if you stop worrying about what others think about you. So be different for 4 years of your life and give people a positive reason to talk about you. Walk through those double doors with confidence and don’t look back.