As far as I can recall, I have never been good enough at anything. I always thought that was actually a good thing because it would motivate me to work harder and try to be better at something. What I found, though, is that this way of thinking was not conducive to working hard – it was incredibly destructive. I was no longer judging whether I was good enough at something, but rather if I was even worthy enough to be doing that thing in the first place. When that’s your mindset, your work becomes devoid of passion - the one thing that made it so beautiful in the first place.

I danced for 10 years, and by average standards I was pretty good at it. I moved up through my studio’s company, I have a stupid amount of pins, ribbons, and medals from my years of competing, and I’ve had a handful of glorious moments when my greatest mentors and inspirations have told me how special I am. But still, I’ve never considered myself a good enough dancer.

I love to write (obviously, I mean that’s why I signed up for this whole Odyssey business). I love reading the stories other writers create and they inspire me to try and find new ways to create my own stories. Writing has always come easier to me than any other aspect of school, so I’ve always done well on essays and other writing assignments, and have had numerous teachers and peers tell me how much they loved something I wrote. Since I started writing for Odyssey, I have been greeted with an outpouring of support, love, and praise for my articles from my friends and family. But still, I don’t consider myself a good enough writer.

I guess I always consider “good enough” to be in comparison to everyone else around me. Growing up in the dance competition circuit, I was constantly surrounded by unbelievably talented people who would inevitably grow up to be Rockettes, ballerinas, backup dancers for Beyonce, and Broadway stars. Those weren’t my dreams – I just wanted to dance for me. But because everyone around me had those dreams of making dance their career, I felt like I wasn’t even worthy of being in their presence. I started thinking should I even be dancing if I don’t want to make a career out of it? I began to lose sight of what dance was all about for me, which was an outlet and form of expression. I was so obsessed with trying to force my goals to match everyone else’s that my intent became artificial. I was never at my worst as a dancer as I was when I lost sight of my original purpose. I thought that being a good dancer meant having the same skills and ambitions as those around me, so I molded myself into something I wasn’t in order to try and be enough.

In my English class at school, which is comprised of only English and education majors, I feel like a complete idiot half the time. We have discussions in class and all my peers express these profound, deep ideas that I can’t even wrap my head around. I read the texts we’re assigned and have to go over each sentence five times to try and make sense of it (looking at you, Virginia Woolf). It terrifies me that the people in my class are the type of people I will be competing for jobs with one day because I feel like I’m not nearly as good enough at what English majors do as they are.

I don’t feel like I am good enough at anything – being a student, a sister, a daughter, a friend, an employee, anything. But that’s because I have the awful habit of comparing my success to that of everyone else around me. People want to achieve different things than I do, so comparing myself to everyone around me is just a waste of time, because no other person is going on the same exact journey that I am and no one has the same experiences that I do. An achievement for me may not be an achievement for someone else, and vice versa. Reaching my own personal goals is what counts, and they aren't going to be the same as everyone else's.

I’m not the best at everything I do, but if I love doing it then I have to assume that I am good enough to be doing it and am worthy of the successes I have. It’s not okay to be stagnant and complacent, we must always continue to push forward and work hard. We can all improve and do better, but being better isn’t about competing with the people around you, it’s simply trying to be better than you were the day before. Being “good enough” is about the little achievements we have as individuals every day. If you are putting in the work to reach those small successes in your life, then know this: you are good enough. Keep putting in the work to be a better you – not a better replica of someone else – and never let anyone tell you that it isn’t enough.