As a little girl, I was the center of attention. 

Despite my parents’ busy schedules, they always made time for their only child. I received gold medals and superior ratings for all my piano competitions. Even though I rarely studied, I got the highest grades in my Vietnamese class. 

Growing up, I developed a sense of certainty in my intelligence and talent. I truly believed I was destined for great things and meant to make a difference in the world. 

But everything changed when I transferred from a charter to a public school in the fourth grade, leaving everything I had ever known behind. From that point on, my perfect little bubble burst, and it seemed as if failure and misfortune lurked in every corner of my life. 

In the fifth grade, I enrolled in a volleyball camp. But no matter how great my sets and passes were, I could never serve over the net.

In the sixth grade, I got second place in a piano competition. To me, second place was the first loser, especially when first place was a cocky 8-year-old. 

In the seventh grade, I developed my first crush on a boy. After a year and a half, I realized how blatantly one-sided it was. 

In the eighth grade, I dove deeper into social media and the internet. As a result, I struggled to feel confident in my own skin when there were much prettier girls online. 

In the ninth grade, I continued to take the Gifted and Talented English class. Yet, I no longer felt gifted or talented when I read my classmates’ essays.

Currently, I am a sophomore at Coppell High School, and I cannot say much has changed. 

I still suffer from everyday disappointments: bad grades, skin breakouts, you name it. And I would be lying if I said I am completely content with my life. However, I have changed my perspective about growing up.

As humans, it is in our nature to desire. Whether it is becoming better versions of ourselves or reverting to who we used to be, we tend to dream of unattainable things. 

This can cause us to lack satisfaction in our lives because we constantly seek perfection. Sometimes, all we need is to take a step back and look at how far we have come. 

Life is a journey and everything we have gone through, including adversity, is meant to test our strength and build our character. The struggles we face growing up teach us key lessons we carry and remember for the rest of our lives, whether we are students studying for exams or parents caring for our families. 

My silver medal from my sixth grade piano competition taught me that I do not have to be the best to be remarkable, something I will keep in mind while applying for college. 

My seventh grade unrequited affections taught me how to feel empathy for someone so that I may search for the same feeling in my future relationships. 

My insecurities from eighth grade taught me that I may not be the reddest rose in the garden, but I am still deserving of love. 

While it may be tempting to turn back time to the simpler days, we must understand that our childhood exists to lay the foundation on which we grow as we mature. It is important not to dwell on memories of the past but to look forward to opportunities of the future. By using this logic, we can allow ourselves room for satisfaction and happiness. 

Maybe I will never amount to the potential my younger self had. Maybe I will never be as smart, skilled or well-loved as her. 

But maybe, if she saw me now, she would be proud of me. After all, I am a reflection of what she has become after years of change, pressure and influence. 

Though I am no longer the naive, starry-eyed girl I used to be, one thing remains the same: I will still make my mark on the world. As will we all. 

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