As a sophomore in college, I definitely learn something new every day. Whether it’s how to solve an inferential statistic problem or how to properly scramble eggs, every time I lay my head down at night, I am a little bit smarter than I was when I woke up that morning.
One lesson I just could not seem to wrap my head around was how to stop comparing myself to other people.
It happens in the most random of moments: at the gym, in the classroom, or just while passing a stranger on the street.
It happens when I look down at a disappointing test score on my desk and glance to my left to see a higher percentage on another student's desk and think: I am not as smart as he is. It happens as I tap through Snapchat stories, hear bursts of laughter and think: I am not having as much fun as they are. It happens when I struggle to make it through a workout alongside someone with a completely different body type and think: I am not as strong as she is.
It’s disappointing just how easy it is to think such pessimistic thoughts about myself in comparison to a stranger, a classmate, a friend, or even a sibling. These shallow comparisons can make me feel unfit, unsuitable, and unworthy.
But what I’ve realized is I am just wasting my time; I am unique in a way that cannot be comparable to anyone else. No one else has seen the things that I have seen, felt the emotions I have felt, and experienced the life I have experienced.
I am who I am today because of the choices I have made; comparing myself to someone with their own individual life story is pointless. Their strengths may be my weaknesses, and my strengths may be their weaknesses, but that does not mean that I am any better or worse than they are.
No one will ever know me better than I know myself. The only person I can be compared to is the person I want to be: the person who wakes up every morning and seizes the day, the person who works hard and the person who loves deeply. My perspective has been shaped by my unique experiences and my unique talents; I am capable of loving, laughing, giving and contributing.
I want to be a better version of myself, not someone else, and I want to value other people for who they choose to be.
The time I spend comparing myself to others could be time spent on enjoying the life I have been blessed with. The only person I want to be better than is the person I was yesterday.
Theodore Roosevelt once said, “Comparison is a thief of joy,” and I choose to be happy.
