I have an amazing stepsister, Maddy. She's a compassionate, hardworking, dedicated and an ambitious young woman. In high school, she was an Honor Roll student, a member of multiple Honors Societies and part of a prestigious youth orchestra. She graduated high school having taken 11 AP courses. She never ceased to challenge herself.

Maddy will be attending Georgia Tech in the fall with a double major in international affairs and economics and a minor in French. Her academic performance is phenomenal, her determination is impeccable, her motivation is unstoppable.

However, she lacks one very important trait: Common sense.

When she bakes, she cracks an egg, walks across the kitchen to the trash can, and throws the shell away. She then repeats this until all the eggs have been cracked.

When she was sent to the store to buy eight Godiva chocolates, she frantically called her mom saying, “They only sell the chocolates in packages of five. We need eight. What should I do?”

When she was asked to defrost a chicken breast for dinner, she proceeded to defrost an entire package of drumsticks. Chicken is chicken, but she was well aware that this chicken was specifically for pizza.

Common sense is not something that can be achieved by reading a step-by-step manual. It is not something one can study, test on or even teach in school. Rather, it is the way one uses practical judgement and reasoning to complete a task. It implies a swift reaction to achieve a simple goal. It is using the most logical, efficient and relevant method to do a basic day-to-day activity.

Common sense doesn’t always go hand-in-hand with book smarts, though. Albert Einstein had two cats: a mother and her kitten. He created two holes in the cage — one big and one small — so that each cat had its own opening. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that the small cat could just go out the bigger opening. Give it up for the creator of the general theory of relativity and the photoelectric effect, folks! As proven by my friend, Einstein, and millions of others, the people who can solve the most complicated physics problems sometimes can’t find a simple solution to the easy problems in life.

There is no shame in knowing our weaknesses and admitting our flaws. Having humility is doing just that: Coming to terms with the imperfections we possess and asking for help and guidance in self-amelioration. No one is perfect by any means; everyone is improving everyday. It is by improving ourselves that we can learn and become better versions of our already amazing selves.

When someone critiques the way you do certain things, don't become offended. Allow them to present their case to you and give you their advice. Accepting help isn't something to be ashamed of; it's best to embrace intended help with an open mind and do your best to implement what they have to say into your life. Trust that the ones you love have only your best interests at heart and want to help you be the best you can be.

Whether you lack common sense, aren't good at school or simply struggle with some aspect of life, embrace your weakness and learn from it. You might not ever reach the same level of proficiency in a skill as your peers, but what you will learn, just like Maddy has, is how to make the best of what skills — or lack thereof — life has handed you.

As Maddy puts it, "I don't have common sense, I have unique sense."