Who You Are

Your age doesn't 
define your maturity,

your grades don't 
define your intellect,

and rumors don't 
define who you really are.

I have heard that you are only as old as you feel.  I have met adults that act like my own children.  I have seen youth that have more maturity than most adults, and I have known adults that need a little maturity in their lives.  I think that some of us need maturity, but we also need to be like children every once in awhile.  

When I was in school, my grades meant everything to me.  They were the things that mattered most.  I felt important if I could get straight A's.  It has taken me years and years to learn that my grades don't define me.  I have to define myself.  Even in college, I had to get A's.  Even when I had papers to write and kids to take care of, I had to get A's.  I had to get through school to see how much those grades did not matter.  The only person they were important to, was me.  

You can get lost in the people around you.   In the way they think about you.  In the way they treat you, in the rumors they spread.  I live in a small town, I like to call it "Rumorgaard".  The rumors spread from one side of town to the next, faster than you can pick up a phone and talk to someone about it.  That has been the hardest challenge for me.  

People gossip and spread rumors everywhere, but in a small town, you get to live with those rumors.  They surround you no matter where you go.  People you don't even know, have no problem coming up to you and asking about it.  I have never been so overwhelmed about rumors.  

For me, this quote is timely and wonderful.  I need to remember that the rumors never have and never will define me.  I get to define myself.  And for me, that means everything.