Text from Dad

The last week of the semester Ginny was struggling with some of her pre-calculus and was getting very discouraged one evening working through problems in preparation for her upcoming exam.  She came to our room and was in there for about an hour for help but still did not meet a deadline for 1 question on the online platform being used. We worked until after 10:00 pm and although she would not receive credit for the question(s) after the deadlines, she persevered.  She was very concerned not to miss seminary but did not get to bed until after midnight.  She did not got to seminary the next morning but I did take Aubree.   The next morning when she awoke, she had the following text from her father that shows his wisdom and counsel we all need to hear at times: "Hope you had a good nights sleep. I am happy that you always go to seminary. I think it shows your strength and faith. Sorry, I lost my patience a little.  You do much better at your studies than I ever did. I know you out a lot of pressure on yourself. Do not think that you have to be perfect for everyone else, including me. Give everything your best for yourself, not to please or impress others. Find happiness in doing things. If it feels overwhelming, step back, breathe, know you are loved for being you and not for your grades or performances or talents. While much of what you do now will influence your future, it is more important to find joy in this journey. This doesn't come from getting math problems correct. I find the most joys in lifting others unexpectedly, praying, taking time to talk to someone, being around my family, completing hard things, and just being around good people even in silence. I am not very good at most of things but you are."
Often as women, I feel we become discouraged so easily when we are unsuccessful or feel we are unsuccessful because we do not meet the standard that we have set for ourselves. We must be forgiving of one another but even more so ourselves.  We can do hard things, sometimes they may not meet our expectations but we accomplish what we are set out to do. And in those moments where the struggle is real, we can look back and say that even though there are very hard times, our track record is 100% overcoming or surviving those times.