All my life, I thought of myself as a disappointment to those around me. My biggest dream was to show everyone that I was capable of thriving, that I was worth it, even though I had a hard time believing it myself.

Little did I know that such a day was about to come sooner than I thought. There was a science competition later that week. Seeing this as an opportunity to shine, I enrolled in it.

The few days before the competition were the toughest of my life. It was an opportunity to prove myself to the people who had never believed in me. I would often look at myself in the mirror, asking myself if all this work was really going to be worth it. Yet I did not give up, because I was determined to win and show everybody, especially those who doubted me, what I was truly capable of. I worked tirelessly day and night on my science module, eager to win.

The competition day finally came, and I had to present my project to the judges. On the day of the competition, I was nervous, thinking about all the possibilities of failing at something I worked so hard at, but I reassured myself that failure is part of the process of succeeding. The location of the competition was a bit far from my house, but I convinced my parents to take me there.

As we entered the hall, I gazed at the myriad projects, each one better than the other. My confidence was shattered. I felt as if all my efforts were goig to go in vain, and yet again I would fail to prove I had some potential in me. However, when my turn came, I managed to present my project confidently.

When the judges were discussing the winners, I was anxiously stomping my feet on the ground. As the judges came back, all eyes shifted towards them, waiting for the announcement. They began announcing the winners, but I was not one of them. My heart sank, I saw my hard work flash in front of my eyes. I stood there numb, staring at my project and thinking about how much effort and time it had taken me to make it.

And then it occurred to me that being part of the competition itself was the prize. I was good enough to be one of the contestants. My worth did not need to be defined by a trophy. It was not someone else’s recognition that I needed, I just had to believe that I was good at something, that I was truly worth it. My worth was not dependent on someone else telling me that I was good — I had to say this to myself. When I looked in the mirror, I just needed to be happy seeing the person who put all her effort into something.

I might not have won a trophy, but I learnt something valuable — no trophy can ever buy happiness and confidence if you don’t believe in yourself. I learnt that the first step in making other people believe your worth is believing it yourself. n

Published in Dawn, Young World, April 5th, 2025