Back in the day, Sally didn’t compare her life to others. She got mostly B’s in school, and a couple C’s that her parents still don’t know about. She enjoyed reading historical fiction and joining family on vacations to Montana. She was introverted, to say the least, but savored her solitude. Overall, Sally was happy with who she was. She was content.
Then Sally got a smart phone.
She downloaded Instagram, Facebook and Twitter like any teenager would. She posted photo after photo, spending any remaining time browsing her feed instead of the library. She spent hours a day checking up on others’ lives, leaving her own behind. Vacations, promotions, awards and celebrations filled her time. With easy access to view others’ constant successes, Sally soon became discontent. She felt she needed to do more, to see more, to be more. Sally felt she needed to be better – the best.
She eventually ditched Montana and became accustomed to Hawaii. She’d never liked the beach, but her Instagram feed loved it. She crammed her schedule with honors courses, internships, extracurriculars and more, attempting to level with her overachieving peers. However, her pedestal never seemed to stand quite tall enough. Sally changed anything and everything possible to be the best, until she wasn’t quite like Sally at all.
Because of today’s instant society, I oftentimes feel a lot like Sally. Do you?
Remember the importance of slowing down – the importance of taking a minute to sit and think with yourself, about yourself and for yourself. It may seem like everyone’s eyes are constantly on you, but trust me, that’s how they all feel too.
Don’t live like Sally, live like you.
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