Each person has their own way of perceiving life and their own goals for the future.

However, the future is not always forseeable, especially during these temporary years of college when there is still much uncertainty over where life may go.

There are some things you know you want to bring with you later in life, though. This includes the people you want in your life when you graduate and possibly move away.

For most of us, that is not a large number of people. But these people are the ones whose opinions you should value and listen to.

It’s all too easy to get caught up over what everyone else does or what everyone else thinks. Amid the little things that set us back on a day-to-day basis, it is easy to accumulate pent-up emotions and eventually lose sight of what you are trying to achieve in the end.

Remember what matters in life—especially your goals and your loved ones.

Some of us can spend hours stressing over what so-and-so did to annoy or inconvenience us.

But where will you be in a week? A year? Five years? Who will still be in your life?

Your energy should be utilized to accomplish your goals, not brood over others’ relationships with or opinions of you.

Now, that is not to say that no one else matters. Everyone matters, and you should treat each and every person with respect. But that doesn’t mean that you waste your energy trying to change yourself to improve others’ perceptions of you.

Some people’s opinions should still be trusted, though, including your boyfriend or girlfriend’s, your family members’ and your close friends’. You should also value the opinions of your boss and professors, in that you should behave appropriately and follow their directions.

But it is impossible to please everyone, so to spend your time worrying about what random people think of you is really a waste of energy and mental capacity.

Your efforts deserve to be used on fulfilling activities, activities that will progress you toward your ideal future and that reflect the person you want to be.

You deserve the chance to become that person. So don’t let yourself get consumed by the things and people that won’t matter when college is all said and done. Keep what matters in sight, and forget the rest.