We’ve all had those moments of panic: heart racing, hands shaking, voice cracking, eyes burning, chest caving in. You understand that all-consuming ache. You’re too emotional to think of what to do next. You break. And it’s all your fault.

But it’s okay.

It’s okay to royally screw up. It’s okay to say, “I put myself into an awful position.” It’s okay to sit up at night and question the entirety and validity of your future. In the moment, you feel like a failure. You’re hopeless and lost. You have hit rock bottom and you have no more safety nets or life lines left to call. And that’s okay. Everyone has hit the wall before. Your parents, your grandparents, your teachers, and all of your friends have felt that they failed themselves and everyone around them. Everyone has been in a position where they weren’t sure of what their future could be. And it’s okay.

Nothing is guaranteed to go well in life. When you’re out in the world for the first time alone, you’re going to have to call your parents for help (and probably money) a lot. It’s not going to be smooth sailing by any means. There’s a good chance it never will be.

You’re going to have a lot more screw-ups in life. Everything is a learning experience, but the biggest lesson you’ll learn is that being on your own and failing is better than being coddled and sheltered. Gaining your independence means failure, but it also means that you can succeed by your own merit.

So let it happen. Overdraft your bank account, flood your apartment floor, sign a contract by mistake, put bleach in the wrong load of laundry, make a long distance call from another country, miss a rent payment, hit a fire hydrant (please don’t do these things intentionally). Scream, cry and call your mom for help a few times. You need to be able to admit you screwed up and learn how to fix it. Plus, once you hit rock bottom, the only way is up.

But remember, no matter how big your problem may seem now, everything is going to be alright.