"If I waited for perfection,
I would never write a word."¹

No one ever listened to my ideas or opinions. What was more discouraging was that I genuinely believed I had good ideas and could usually see what needed to be done long before everyone else. But the moment I had to say it out loud, my brain would short-circuit. Whether it was talking to a teacher, speaking during a group project, or even sending a message to a group chat, I would get flustered. As a result, I rarely got my point across and always lived in fear of being under