[class*="animate"] > * { opacity: 1; }
Create a future where young people value human dignity.
Help us reach our Spring Campaign goal of $200,000 by March 22nd. Your generosity will equip young people to stay in the faith, empower them to choose life, and transform the culture.
Donate
Donate

Breaking Up With Worth

May  16th,  2019
Ally Klekas
By Ally Klekas read
Posted in Dating

Breakups, the good the bad the ugly- the heartbreaking. Breakups are annoying, hurtful, gut wrenching, maybe joyful, and filled with lots of ice cream. We all have our own description of what a breakup feels like, but I am willing to say that many breakups will lead us to question who we are as a person when it is all over. I know I did.

Six years ago I was faced with this question of self-doubt when I was broken up with. The breakup was straight out of left field and literally left me on my friend’s dorm room floor crying my eyes out. In the days that followed, I found myself continually asking questions like, what did I do wrong? What could have I done better? Do I have any worth left? Who am I now? Ever since high school and into my sophomore year of college I was with this person and now I was supposed to navigate life outside of high school in the college world all by myself? You see, unfortunately, I had put my whole identity into this relationship and this person. I let myself be defined by our relationship, and I measured my worth by our relationship status. Once it was pulled out from under me, I really didn’t know who I was anymore.

Six years later and the one piece of advice I would give my younger broken self would be never to put your identity into a relationship and definitely not into another person. First and foremost your identity lies in being a son or daughter of God. Second, your identity comes from you, and all that encompasses you as a person. Your likes, dislikes, character traits, appearance, and the inherent worth that you have from the mere fact that you are a human person. When we date another person, we can tend to start to mold our likes, dislikes, character traits, appearance, and even the worth we feel like that person gives us into similar of that other person. Doing so is not upholding our own dignity and therefore can make the breakup ten times more difficult. This took some time for me to learn, understand, and then put into practice. But I know the next time I begin a relationship I will be respecting my dignity and his dignity by not finding my worth in him or our relationship.

We as a culture need to do a better job at upholding our own individual dignity and not cheapen it by measuring our worth in someone or something else. We are better than that. You are better than that, and I am better than that. I have learned that no matter what kind of break up a person goes through it will never take away your worth as a human person. That person nor that relationship gave you your worth. You have incredible value by way of where your first identity lies. God gave that to you, not that person who left you on the floor crying.  

Ally Klekas
Ally Klekas

About the Author

Ally Klekas is from a small Northeastern Nevada town. Ally is the only sister of a family of ten children. She loves exploring the outdoors with her nine brothers, baking with her nieces, and having early morning coffee with her parents. Ally has her degree in Early Childhood Education. The past four years she has been teaching in Nevada and in Spain. Ally discovered The Culture Project while at World Youth Day in Poland. The message of living authentically for true freedom through human dignity and sexual integrity profoundly spoke to Ally. After discerning what God was calling her to do, she answered His call by applying to be a CP missionary. “I want to help others understand that they are wonderfully and beautifully made. Once they realize their greatness, they can embrace their gifts and live in fullness for our Lord and experience true love and happiness”


Read this next
Listen

I remember when I first heard the term: emotional first aid. I was in high school when I was taught what to do when a friend is in crisis. Our culture places a high priority on communication through speaking, and there are various outlets to express our ideas and opinions. However, we have to remember…


Subscribe

Get encouraging articles and resources from The Culture Project and stay up to date on the pulse of what is affecting teens today.

Join 30,242 others