“I didn’t know it but my feelings of failure were actually making me feel like I was a huge failure. I also had a big gap in my ability to like and have faith in myself. I think that’s why I compared myself so much to others. I went several years taking steps forward, steps backward, and constantly telling myself there was something wrong with me.” 

"As I studied the now-wilted flower, I realized I could see myself in it. What was once open and beautiful had become closed and withdrawn."