We as individuals tend to be told over and over again by society to stand out and be unique, in order to create our own path in the world.The truth of the matter is that you and I are just another line of numbers in the huge code of society. While we would like to say we are more than numbers, the truth says otherwise as demonstrated through careers, social security numbers, and even your grade point average (GPA).

For starters, notice how when people are investigating careers, he/she tends to look at the salary first. Salaries tend to make up our pride as well as our social status, as evident by the social classes. In other words, people tend to strive to make a bigger paycheck as a way to justify their “superiority” over others. Numbers make up everyone’s lives whether you want to admit or not; you are one of those numbers.

Something to consider is, everyone has a social security number that only belongs him/her. To give some context, the Social Security number was created in 1936 in order to track the earnings histories of U.S. workers, for use in determining Social Security benefit. In other words it was invented as a way to categorize workers through giving them a unique number solely for them. In 1936, the government was able to find out : the employee name, address, current employer, age, date and place of birth, and skin color as well as sex. Ergo, proving that you are just a number in the government’s eyes.

Furthermore, one more piece of evidence that points to the fact that you are a number is your Grade Point Average, aka your GPA. As many of you know, the higher grade point average you have, the more competitive you are. Some Colleges and University give scholarships depending on your GPA. Not to mention while your personal statement is as valid way colleges and universities don’t use numbers to label you. However, most colleges and universities require you to take the SAT or ACT and base your admission chances on that as well as your GPA.

One should always remember, there is a unique individual behind those lines of numbers; a person with feelings and emotions as well as unique mannerisms and thoughts. We as society can and should use numbers, but should not be “driven” by them. We can not forget that we are human beings with unique needs, characteristics, qualities, and should be treated accordingly. Furthermore, I want to clarify I am not against using “numbers” to help our society grow. I am against using “numbers” to define our society.