If you’re like me, you walk around daily wondering what other people think about how you look, talk, walk, and dozens of other things. This is the reality for lots of middle and high schoolers, so if you do worry about what other people think, you’re not alone. But this idea of “pruning your tree” just might be the thing that will set you free from self-consciousness. 

Think about a tree with lots of branches. Each branch is something you care about, and the larger the branch, the more you care or think about that thing. For me, friends, family, and my overall well-being are the bigger branches, and things like my utter hatred for the minions are small branches on my tree. If your tree has too many big branches of doubt or worry, the sun won’t be able to get to the things you care about.

However, some priorities are things you can’t trim away. I’m not saying to stop caring about your GPA (this is a school newspaper article, after all) to make time for your friend group, but this time you’re spending worrying about things that don’t matter could be spent instead by going outside, doing that project you’ve been procrastinating on, or making plans to go to the next football game with your friends. 

Let’s be real. Life is scary. Going to that club meeting when you might not know anyone there? Trying out for that sport you haven’t played since middle school? Asking someone to homecoming? Speaking up in class when you don’t understand what’s being taught? These are scary things! But what if you just said “yes”? “What would you do if you knew you couldn’t fail?” I see this quote a lot and it never fails to make me wonder. What would I do? I have tried to try it all in 2024. From big things like a week away at summer camp for the first time and joining a brand new choir, to having hard conversations and learning how to stick up for what I want, I have tried to do it all with an “I can’t fail, only learn” mindset. 

If I hadn’t cut the branches of self-doubt and self-consciousness off my tree, I wouldn’t have gone for these opportunities. Now, I’m not perfect. Of course, I still wonder if people are looking at my chipped nail polish or my untied shoelace, but trimming the branches of self-doubt off my tree when I just needed to take the leap was vital. It takes practice, like anything, and no one is perfect at it. All we can do is try.

So, try out for the sport. Join the club. Ask the question. Ask all the questions. We can’t take life too seriously, and we surely can’t live our lives worrying about every small thing that arises. Get your priorities straight and let the sun shine through the things that matter most in your life. It is your life, after all, not anyone else’s.