We as people spend so much of our lives caring about things that really just don’t matter. We cling to the delusions of others’ opinions like our lives depend on them. We get a false sense that gaining approval and acceptance will make us happy. But does it really matter? Does chasing a forever-changing standard ever make us complete?

No matter what you do you will be judged. It is impossible to avoid. Even the kindest people I’ve met have been pushed away by people for being “Just too positive”. People will look at you, people will talk about you, and people will inevitably pass judgment. And while this truth may sound intimidating, you should take it and allow it to set you free. What other people are thinking rarely even matters. Someone else’s opinion really has no significance in your life, so what difference does it make? You have to let go and separate yourself from everyone else’s idea of you. You might as well be judged for being secure and living happily rather than spending a lifetime in worry. Your life is too short to be held under someone else’s regulation.

Giving up on others’ opinions also builds you into a kinder person. It’s something we all can learn from. Hate stems from arrogance. Being focused on others’ judgments makes us insecure, which often leads to critiquing others in order to pacify our own insecurities. Abandoning this mindset causes you to abandon the habit of dumping those same feelings onto other people.

In interviewing 9th-grade staff writer Jaiden Herzog, she explained that she feels most people stop caring what others think of them later in life, once they are already grown adults. Stating, “Once you’re out of the pressuring environment of the school, you kind of have to sit with yourself. You’re no longer being as pressured to fit in with a crowd. You grow into someone who is more independent and lean on yourself.” So why don’t we start now?

You may be asking yourself “How do I let go and stop caring what others think?” And although it may not be easy, it’s completely attainable. Next time you find yourself worrying “What could they be thinking?”, “What if I’m set apart from everyone?”, “Do I stick out?”, try to ask yourself these questions instead: “Why does it matter?”, “What difference does it make?”, “Do I even like the people that I’m seeking the approval of? Would I want to be like them?”. Sometimes it just takes a different angle to see things in a whole new light.