It doesn’t take long. New classroom, new corridor, new group of people, and almost immediately, some quiet part of the brain starts measuring. Who seems to already have friends. Who seems more confident, more prepared, more sorted. Comparison doesn’t wait for a reason to show up; it often arrives before the first lesson does.
This isn’t unique to school gates or lecture halls; it’s just especially loud there, because everything is unfamiliar and everyone is trying to work out where they fit. But comparison was never a reliable way to work out your worth, in September or any other month.
“Each one should test their own actions… then they can take pride in themselves alone, without comparing themselves to someone else” (Galatians 6:4). Notice it doesn’t say stop noticing other people; it says stop using them as the measuring stick.
There’s a difference between being inspired by someone and being defined against them. One pushes you forward. The other quietly convinces you that you’re behind before you’ve even started.
If this term is putting you in new rooms with new people, it might help to remember nobody around you has finished becoming who they are, no matter how sorted they seem on day one. You’re not behind. You’re just at your own starting point, not theirs.
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