This is a little gem I ran across 'way back when'.
I had to do some digging to find the text again on the internet. The text below doesn't match what I recall originally encountering, but as long as it has been, I find this to be no surprise.
While the words do not match my forgotten memories, the message is identical. Life is not about the things that do not matter, it is not about the inconsequential things that make us different. It is about the things that define our character. The things that do not define the 'what' you are, but the 'who' you are. In the end, I don't care how rich or poor, how great or small you are. I don't care how many friends you have. I care about the content of your character.
Life is not about keeping score.
It's not about how many friends you have.
Or how accepted you are.
Not about if you have plans this weekend or if you are alone.
It is not about who you're dating, who you used to date,
or how many people you've dated, or if you have not been with anyone at all.
It is not about who you have kissed. It's not about sex.
It is not about whom your family is or how much money they have,
or what kind of car you drive, or where you are sent to school.
It's not about how beautiful or ugly you are, or what clothes you wear,
what shoes you have on, or what kind of music you listen to.
It's not about if your hair is blonde, red, black, or brown.
Or if your skin is too light or too dark.
Not about what grades you get, how smart you are,
how smart everybody else thinks you are,
or how smart standardized tests say you are.
It's not about what clubs you are in or how good you are at "your" sport.
It's not about representing your whole being on a piece of paper
and seeing you will "accept the written you".
But, life is about who you love and who you hurt.
It's about who you make happy or unhappy purposefully.
It's about keeping or betraying trust.
It's about friendship, used as a sanctity or a weapon.
It's about what you say and mean, maybe hurtful, maybe heartening.
About starting rumors and contributing to petty gossip.
It's about what judgments you pass and why.
And who your judgments are spread to.
It's about who you've ignored with full control and intention.
It's about envy, fear, ignorance, and revenge.
It's about carrying inner hate and love, letting it grow, and spreading it.
But most of all, it's about using your life to touch or poison other people's hearts
in such a way that could have never occurred alone.
Only you choose the way those hearts are affected,
and those choices are what life's all about.
Author - Unknown