Senior Yearbook Quote by Madeline

Senior Yearbook Quote by Madeline - November 2018 Scholarship Essay

For my senior yearbook quote, I have decided to choose a self quote: "Do you and forget the irrelevant." I came up with this quote during my junior year of high school. The meaning behind the quote is very special to me. At the time that I created this quote, I had been going through a phase of self judgement and self criticism due to my concern of what people thought about me. I would constantly change certain things about myself or change the way I acted in situations so that I could "blend in" or be a part of the "norm." A big example that I remember is when a friend of mine told me that the Vietnamese food I'd eat at lunch smelled and looked weird. I know it sounds like a minor comment, but it really caused me to feel embarrassed. I remember I wouldn't eat my main lunch out of embarrassment, and I would only eat the apple and the bag of chips in my lunch bag. Then every day after getting home I would throw the food away in the trash so that my mom wouldn't find out.
I regret those actions now because I know I should never be embarrassed of who I am or my culture. I also realize that my friend that made that comment is no longer in my life. They aren't in my life because of that one comment, but it just has turned out that we never speak anymore. Therefore I learned the lesson that those who are going to be in your life accept you and everything that comes with you. And for the people who won't be in your life long-term, it doesn't matter what they say.
This quote is significant because it caused me to realize that I should not change anything about myself or my actions because of what other people think. In the end, my true friends and family will be there to support me and lift me up, and everyone else who makes me feel less then what I am is unimportant. Those people and what they say are irrelevant, and when I finally realize that what they say doesn't define me, I can finally let go and be happy. I finally don't have to change for others, and I can be satisfied doing my own thing-- "doing me."