This week, I met a young man who reminded me of myself 10 years ago.

Granted he is much younger now than I was 10 years back, but his dreams and ambitions seemed to match mine and I couldn’t help but think back to when I was younger with just a pen and a dream. Or keyboard, if you prefer the technology of the day and time that we live in.

With just a hope and determination, I set out into the world without any sort of idea as to the best way possible to make my dreams come true.

As with most of us, there was stumbling along the way; chances taken that maybe should not have been. There was heartache and there was disappointment.

But still, I knew if I only believed in myself, I couldn’t fail. Failure takes root in self doubt. If you doubt yourself, odds are at least half the battle has already been lost.

Believing in myself gave me the ability to push through even when I got horrible grades on college papers.

Believing in myself made me see, even though some of the editors I worked under treated me horribly or didn’t give me the decency to look my way most days, as long as I wanted it bad enough, I could make anything happen.

As they say, the time will pass anyway. Might as well put it to good use.

So to that young man, and the rest of you reading this, believe in yourself and know that you are enough!

Never let anyone tell you any different. Do not be afraid of failure because, after all, it means you tried.

And trying is half the battle in a world consumed with wanting the easy way out.

Trust yourself and the process and you will always accomplish what you set out to. It may not evolve exactly the way you plan it, but trusting and learning from the journey is equally important to your success.

And even though the ride may get bumpy at times, the view from the top can never be beat.

Brittany Fuller is the community editor of The Jessamine Journal and Jessamine Life magazine. She can be reached at brittany.fuller@jessaminejournal.com.