By Opinion Editor, Ramela Ohanian

       I think you are fat.
       I think you are ugly, too.
            In fact, I think you are fat, ugly, and annoying.
  If you pinch the fat on your stomach, then this article is for you. If you touch your face for imperfections, this article is for you. And if you feel like jumping me after I insulted you in the beginning of this article, then this article is definitely for you.
            People care too much about what other people think. At this point, you are probably objecting “That is not true. I do not care.” You are lying. I know you care, you know you care, and everyone else knows you care too.
In high school, we are labeled. Whether you are a jock or a nerd, you obtain a label. By today’s standards, that label, from your freshman year to your senior year, defines you… that is, if you let it define you.
Why is what others think of us so important? How come it matters to us if someone thinks we are too nerdy, too skinny, too loud, or too whatever? It should not matter; it does not have to.
For example, usually, when one is walking down the hallway with a friend and someone your friend does not know walks by and at that moment notices you, your friend might ask you who he or she is. Your automatic response is “he is on the football team,” or “she is in the top ten.” How come the response is never “she is so nice to everyone all the time,” or “he once tutored me in math class for nothing in return”?
            When someone cares about what other people think of them, that person becomes too self-conscious and too involved in what that person’s insult was. It can completely break someone down. The person starts thinking about why they were called what they were, and how they can change that person’s mind. The problem is that it should not matter what someone calls you.
Honestly, who cares?
            If you start worrying about what people think it may control your lifestyle. Do not let your world revolve around their comments. If someone thinks you are a “slut,” so be it. Does it really matter? As long as you know you are not (or…if you are, then that is a different article), and the people you care about and trust know you are not, it should make no difference in your life.
            Yes, I sound completely cheesy, but think about it. If someone insults you, granted, you are going to feel the need to defend yourself. However, defending yourself will just prove that you actually care about what he or she is stating and that you are letting it affect you. On the other hand, if someone does throw you a serious and critical insult having to do strictly with your personality and how you are received by others; figure out if it is true or not, and adjust. Do not be so stubborn about it. Just do not let it control your life, and how you live it.  
            Do not let people define you; define yourself. If you are letting other people define you for someone you are not, then maybe you should let it control your life. Maybe you should let your entire world revolve around that one insult, trying to figure out where you went wrong. Or maybe, just maybe, you will learn to not care. You will learn to ignore what other people think about you, and you will learn to move right past those irrelevant insults.
            And if you think I am a(n) *insert insult here* for writing this article…I don’t care.