My opinion doesn’t matter. I’m an editor of this magazine and head of the theater’s running crew and set tech. I’m an artist outside of school, but when I grow up I want to be a psychology professor. My house burned down in the Marshall fire, and each year of high school I experience new levels of grief.
None of that matters. What I’m about to say right now is useless. Don’t take my advice.
Because I’m not you. I don’t have your thoughts, your emotions, or your experiences. Who am I to say what you should feel or what you should think?
So many high school students spend their four years grueling over others’ opinions. If I listened to everyone’s opinions, I wouldn’t be writing this. I wouldn’t do art. I wouldn’t be in theater.
All because someone said it was “stupid” or “gay,” I wouldn’t do anything I loved.
I tried that in middle school, and then in freshman year. It was miserable. I realized I’m wasting the time I have with certain people worrying about myself when I just want to be happy.
High school is three percent of the average person’s life. In the grand scheme of things, that does not matter. Still, I refuse to spend three percent of my life miserable (I’m saving that for graduate school).
Don’t compare yourself to me, don’t judge me, don’t read this opinion.
You aren’t like your peers. You aren’t like me. We may have similarities, but I don’t live your life daily.
Why should you care what others think? Care about the opinions of your parents, not kids you’ve only known since freshman year.
I still think about others’ perceptions of me, just with less weight. It’s not like every opinion I’ve heard is utterly useless. In fact, I actually learn things about myself sometimes.
I’m arrogant. That’s something I’ve learned from other people’s opinions. My mother specifically. However, my arrogance has saved me from losing my mind ten times over.
I don’t let my low self-esteem get the best of me, even when it drops. I used to think as soon as I got a poor grade, I should drop out of the class or give up on school. It’s different now. I can actually realize that I’m more than the grades or opinions; there is more perspective than whatever my mind decides to focus on.
I don’t listen to others’ opinions not because I think I’m better than them (it depends on the person, actually), but because they don’t have the experiences I have. The majority of the opinions I discredit are from students. Anyone under the age of 18 is too under qualified to give any advice worth my time, or anyone else’s.
So yes, this is a prime example of my arrogance. I’m just as equally under qualified to write this opinion as anyone else. I want you after reading this to “stop caring about other people’s opinions,” but it’s paradoxical.
Who am I to say “Stop caring about other people’s opinions” and then expect you to go out and listen to me?
The majority of the time, people don’t actually care about you. The majority of people couldn’t care less about me. Every student in this school is too focused on themselves to actually say anything.
If anyone ever cares enough to actually say anything, it’s usually just for themselves to feel better. I have a big forehead? Yeah, probably. I bet you feel better about yourself now. Good job.
So don’t read this opinion. Whatever you make out of this article doesn’t matter to me. Do what makes you happy.