I was diagnosed with dyslexia in kindergarten. At the time, I'm not sure I really understood what it meant other than the fact it made me different from all the other kids. Prior to being diagnosed, I actually looked forward to doing homework, and I distinctly remember arguing with my brother about how I was always going to love homework and school when I got older, and nothing could change my mind. His response was the typical, "One day you'll understand," and (don't tell him I said this) he was right.

As I transitioned from elementary to middle school, the work got harder for me. I've needed a tutor most years in school because I was a slow reader and was told I wasn’t on schedule with the rest of my classmates. I didn’t understand why the work was so much harder for me but not for everyone else. I started to feel ashamed because I thought I was stupid. I thought that school was the most important thing, and if I wasn’t successful, then what could I possibly be good at?

I was just a little girl not fitting inside the education box, and this shattered my view of self-worth. Don't get me wrong, school is important, and I understand its purpose, but school isn't everything. Your grades, GPA and ACT score don't define you.

Years ago, I never would have seen myself sitting here writing articles for Odyssey. Writing isn’t my strength, but I started writing because it challenges me intellectually by putting a piece of myself out there every week for people to read. Honestly, after my second article, I kind of wanted to quit because I started to doubt that anything I wrote would be worth reading. I started to fear that people might think what I was writing about was stupid. Though, I've realized that I can’t please everyone and still be who I am.

At the end of the day, we all have different strengths and weaknesses, but we really can achieve whatever we desire. It just takes a little courage. Don’t let anyone tell you that you can't, no matter what. You can defy the odds, break the barriers and make it happen. It may seem cliché, but it's just the truth. We get lost in what we are supposed to be, and we lose sight of what we actually want. You don’t have to be perfect at something to succeed at it.