Comparisons

Everyone does it. You can't deny it.

I want her hair.

Her car is better than mine.

She understands this material better than I do. If she can understand it, I'm out of luck.

The list goes on and on. Because we all do it. Heck even I'm guilty of it, almost constantly. But then today I log into my Facebook, and one of my applications is a little quote thing. Its called, "God Wants You to Know". Sure a lot of them are about not taking the small things for granted, getting out and enjoying nature, and love being everywhere around us.

Some days the application hits the nail on the head, its exactly what I needed to hear, when I needed to hear it. Other days the message is meaningful but doesn't necessarily smack me in the face.

Then I got this today...

On this day of your life, Ashlee, we believe God wants you to know...that you need to stop comparing yourself to other people. Some people are great singers, some are really smart and others are great athletes. But none of them are, or ever could be you. You are one of a kind. So stop comparing yourself to other people. You can't be them any more than they can be you.

WOW. The more I thought about it the more I enjoyed it; the more meaningful it became. In our society we spend so much time trying to be the next best thing. We watch fashion shows on TV, idolize models who are overly skinny, and watch as celebrities drop their baby weight in the blink of an eye.

As a society we get so caught up in what everyone else is doing that we forget that we are individuals with our very own potential. Even I am guilty of doing it. I can't even think of how many times this week I've idolized someone else. I've even done the "I wish I was her" 's lately. What can I say I'm human.

I get so wrapped up in what I want I forget what all I have. I forget what my goals and potential really are. My focus has shifted from doing what I know I can, to being something that everyone seems to want. And now I realize that I will never get anywhere by doing that. I can never achieve my dreams of being a nurse and taking care of Kaylin, if I don't  look at myself instead of comparing myself to everyone else.

So my dear reader(s) stop looking at the world to give you the answers you are so desperately looking for. Instead, look at yourself and make what you want happen. Then you'll find that you're just as happy as Jane across the street. Do it for yourself.