Never Let Numbers Define Who You Are

You are more than numbers formed using calculations and logic. You are not just some tiny dot on a graph or a conclusion to be drawn. You are heartfelt laughter during a Friday night out with your best friends. You are the tears streaming down your face, emotionally stripped and raw from a breakup; and just as equally the tears of joy when you are overwhelmed by the presence of God on a Sunday morning.

You are more than the number flashing across the scale or the inch where the measuring tape meets when pulled snugly around your waist. You are your favorite pair of jeans that hug you in all of the right places and an old, worn-in t-shirt that is softer than the finest cashmere.

You are more than the countless number of magazines and advertisements screaming that you’re not good enough just the way that you are. Your beauty comes from a place inside, so hidden that it could rival the depths of the ocean. It shines through from your soul, radiating from the inside out. It is reflected out into the world through your kindness and compassion towards others.

You are more than the number of people you have dated, loved, or slept with. You are not a slut, a prude, or damaged goods — regardless of what people tell you or how many times your heart has been bruised. You are the equivalent of your personal choices and the freedom to do whatever you please.

You are more than your GPA. Your thoughts, intelligence, and character could never be added up and divided into a precise percentage. You are all of the adventures, mistakes and late nights spent with friends when you should be sitting at home quietly studying.

You are more than amount of debt you owe or the balance in your checking account. You are a part of places you’ve traveled and the experiences you’ve shared. You could be diving off a cliff, trekking through the rainforest or swimming underneath a waterfall.

You are more than a statistic stating that you are a part of a minority, ignorantly claiming that you will never be equal to the ideal, no matter how hard you work. You are determined, ambitious, and driven by your own hopes and dreams. You are striving to be the best possible version of yourself because that is what truly matters.

You are not the number of days, hours, and minutes you have on this earth.

You are how you decide to use that time to leave your own legacy behind.

You are all of these little things added up into one infinitesimal sum. You are alive.