In elementary school I was terrible at math. When it came to fractions, algebra or geometry I was never able to wrap my head around the concept of solving even the simplest of equations. It’s not for a lack of trying, I’d go to school early before the day began and forced my poor grade 8 teacher to sit down with me and explain her lessons one-on-one. When I didn’t understand, I got frustrated and was constantly upset because I was the only one in the class who was applying myself yet, not achieving results.

I’ll never forget the moment at my grade 8 graduation when my teacher handed out individual cards to the class with a personalized message. When I opened mine it said, “you can achieve amazing things Jessica, you just need to have a little more faith in yourself.”

In more situations than not, I still get self-conscious, nervous and expect the worse in every situation. Why? Because I’m human. We all have moments where we feel overwhelmed and insecure. However, I’ve learned over many years that how I think, feel, and the way I act is valid. When I came across this article from Fast Company I couldn’t help but share it with those who can relate. It speaks of breaking out of your shell and reaching your full potential.

“The trick is that I learned it’s completely fine to try and fail, to put yourself out there and not be perfect, to say hello to someone and have them not instantly love you, to create something and have people judge you. Failure, not being perfect, mistakes, not having people agree with me, not being completely accepted: These are not negative things. They’re positive. How is failure positive? It’s the only way we truly learn…until you try it and fail, you’ll never see where your lack of understanding is. When we can get better at this–which takes a lot of practice–we can start to remove the things that hold us back. And in this practice, you will find yourself. And realize that you were great all along.”

Sorry, I promise I’m not lecturing you nor do I want to sound like a parent asking you to “apply yourself.” I think it’s truly important to be reminded that every single one of us can achieve greatness, it’s just a matter of shutting up and believing it.

Even when the going gets tough, NEVER LET ANYONE TELL YOU WHO YOU ARE! Like this goldfish, if she wants to be a shark, be a shark girlfriend. Keep the faith and let your freak flag fly.