Makenna Hamilton
If you’re reading this, no one is perfect.
My whole life, I have always strived to be perfect in everything I did from school to extracurriculars. I recall even from my elementary school years crying because I got a low A on an exam. I was devastated and this continued as I often felt like a failure even when doing well. It seemed my best was never good enough and I worried more about comparing myself to my peers than my own success. I was filled with so much disappointment in myself for not earning a perfect grade or doing as well as my friends.. As I got older, this feeling of having to be perfect continued to grow to the point I was consumed with thoughts that I had to be perfect. I was stuck in a cycle of comparing myself to my peers, feeling like a failure when I did not achieve the unrealistic goals set in my head, and then harshly critiquing myself.
I grew up in a small community, one in which everybody knew everybody’s business and I feel this always made matters worse. This idea of everyone knowing my business filled my self doubt into a whirlwind. I did not want anyone to know I had struggles and imperfections. I wanted to seem put together and I felt appearing happy would make others think I had everything I wanted in life. I wanted to be someone everyone else wanted me to be, never taking into account who I wanted to be. Sadly, I learned that this cannot be sustained as a way of living.
So if you are reading this, trying your hardest is all you can ask from yourself. The pressure to have to be perfect and to fit in is hard, but all you can ask from yourself is to try your best, be the best version of yourself, and put all your effort into whatever task you have to do. Everyone has individual struggles and although individuals may seem they are perfect on the outside, no one actually feels that way at all times. The uniqueness of everyone is what makes the world a more interesting place. If we were perfect there would not be anything to strive for. Please always remember to celebrate your accomplishments, turn your mistakes into learning opportunities, do not set unrealistic goals, and lastly remind yourself you are more than your perfectionism. You are you and that is amazing!
Makenna H., University of South Carolina
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