As I have grown up, I have learned countless life lessons; situations that I have gone through have taught me a great deal about what is actually important in life. A few of these lessons have been extremely important for mental and emotional growth, including the truths that grades are not everything, what other people think does not have priority importance for me, and living in fear is counterproductive.
Firstly, I have learned that grades are not the most important point in life. Doing well in school is quite valuable, but constantly stressing yourself out about schoolwork is not helpful. It is better to do the best you can without sacrificing your relationships. One bad grade is not the end of the world. There are many opportunities to shine and performing less than your best on an English test, for example, will not create chaos for the rest of your life.
Secondly, I have learned that what other people think does not matter as much as some would like to believe. Living to please others is exhausting and extremely disheartening when it does not work. Being yourself and allowing people the opportunity to accept you for who you are is less stressful and more empowering. Also, you should do what is right, even if someone will judge you for it. Anyone who wishes to tear you down when you did not do anything wrong does not deserve your time.
Lastly, it is never good to live in fear. You should not be afraid to make mistakes. Worrying about this does not help. You should work hard and do the best you can in everything you do. Whether this be in a sport or in life as a whole, doing everything you can rather than holding back because of a fear of failure is what will change you for the better. Also, you should try to put yourself “out there” and participate in many types of activities and challenges. This does not mean you should be reckless and make bad, rash decisions; instead, you should not abstain from trying something new simply from a fear of the unknown.
We should be responsible and mindful of others. With that, we should also keep a balance in life remembering that we have opportunities to try new things with the understanding that we have people around us to guide us and help us.
~SarahR
