It is completely insane to me how much of our self-worth we determine, based on external symbols.

Receiving a paper you wrote for class, back with the letter "F" on it, is no more than just a letter on a paper, but yet can be so detrimental to our confidence.

Stepping on a scale can give the same amount of anxiety if a number appears that we do not want to see, whether it be too small or too big of a number.

Why do we let these symbols control our lives? These letters and these numbers are nothing more to our spirit or soul, but just letters and numbers. They do not make us any less of who we are. These symbols do not define who we are.

When the end of the semester rolls in, we hear everybody sharing the GPA they ended with. You hear 2.9, 3.5, 4.0. Each person is their own number, their own perspective. Some will perceive themselves as not being adequate enough if their number is not as high as others they've heard.

When, in reality, a number does not define your intelligence.

Intelligence cannot be scaled with a letter or a number. There are a million and one other factors that play a role in such a system. Think of all the missed homework and classes an individual may have due to whatever reason that could drop their grade to failing. Nonetheless, they could have an IQ of 150 and just have the strive to participate or even be unable to participate due to personal reasons.

There are many possibilities and reasons that can hinder somebody's grade or score while in school, but it is truly not an accurate measurement of intelligence. We should not treat it like it is.

We should not be so conditioned to call ourselves dumb or stupid when receiving a low number score on a test. All it is is a number. If a professor gives you a 60% on a test or paper, it does not define you as a unique individual. It just means your professor had written a 60 on your paper.

The only thing that can define us is us. What makes us who we are is all in our spirit and soul. No outside forces or socially conditioned symbols can tell us if we are too dumb, fat, or skinny. It is almost an illusion; we are just seeing a number that we have been conditioned to believe that defines us a certain way.

In order to break this condition, we must change our perspective to see things as they really are. An "F" is an F, not the end of the world. It is a letter your teacher labeled your paper. It is not an indicator of your intelligence. Do not let such a tedious label depreciate your self-worth and identity.

Be true to yourself, and you will be defined as so.