In college, I was that girl who was involved in everything and achieved highly in classes. I valued opportunities and experiencing several different types of organizations. I wanted to be a part of everything. I'm grateful for everything I experienced, from service mission trips to theater to class projects, but I also put pressure on myself to be heavily involved. I felt like I had to have it together all the time and maintain a certain level of perfection. I wanted people to think I had it together. In reality, it is such a waste of time and energy to make people think you are perfect.

Instead of wasting so much time and energy making people think you have it together, spend time actually investing in what you're working on and do it well. Chances are that people will admire the work you do if you actually put the necessary effort and energy in that otherwise you spend trying to impress people. It's easy to care what others think, but it's a much better feeling being proud of everything you accomplish rather than just appearing to succeed on a resume. Ultimately, I started to do quite a bit of self-reflection and evaluate how my time is spent. I very carefully choose what opportunities I take advantage of because when I do something I want to do it well. When someone asks how everything in my life is going, I try to be honest and not take life so seriously. It's all about balance, and I don't know if anyone ever really figures out a perfect life balance.

No one responds well when someone is clearly just trying to impress them. Impress others by actually striving to make a positive impact in everything you do. Ultimately, people appreciate genuineness and integrity. Being genuine means admitting that you need help. You also can't be afraid to ask for help. People also value honesty. You can be honest about not being perfect. That reflects a certain level of humility that is attractive to people.

Essentially, trying to just appear to have it all together takes a lot of work. In the end, you don't have anything to gain. You won't grow and you won't really reap the benefits of putting in effort into your endeavors. Since college, I've continued to work on accepting that mistakes happen. I'm far from perfect, but at least I'm not trying to just appear to have it together all the time. Instead, I'm committed to spending my time and energy doing a few things I love to do well, which includes my job.