As you look back on your life to date, do you have any regrets? Do you wish you’d have been a little bit braver, trusted in yourself more, spoken up or been less cautious in the chances you took? When speaking to people in their 40s and beyond, many tell me that if they could live their life over again, they’d have taken more risks, settled less and spoken up more often. They wish they had been more courageous in the risks they’d taken; perhaps you can relate.

Often we know what it is we want to do, but we still don’t do it. Why? We are afraid of putting our vulnerability on the line. In other words, we find it much easier to settle, keep our mouths closed and our heads down rather than make a change, take a chance or speak up and engage in the conversation. The status quo, while not particularly fulfilling, can seem like an easier, softer, less scary option. We tend to focus more on what might go wrong — what we might lose or sacrifice — than what might go right.

Then, we exaggerate the consequences of what might happen if it does go wrong. I don’t know about you, but whenever I do something wrong, I think ​they’re going to remember this forever. I’m never going to be able to live this down. ​Of course, it really stinks at that moment when you know you’ve made a mistake, but in reality, all of your faults and mistakes will be forgotten. Do you remember every mistake you’ve seen in your life? No, and neither will anyone remember yours.

Even if you do face consequences, we often underestimate our ability to handle them. While I hate to say it, women are the biggest culprits when it comes to underestimating their abilities and buying into self-doubt. Too often we let our misgivings about whether we have what it takes to succeed get the better of us. The result is that we often avoid taking on new challenges because we don’t trust sufficiently in our ability to rise to the challenges they involve.

So what if you make a mistake? It’s just like riding a bike. If you fall down trying to peddle, you pick it back up and try again. Eventually you get the hang of it. It’s the same concept with life. You’re going to make mistakes, have bumps in the road and probably feel like you’re at your lowest point, but you have to keep pedaling through life until you get the hang of it.

The most important thing in life is being happy, so take the risk. Be fearless. Quit that job you hate so much and find a new one that makes you happier, let go of toxic people that just keep bringing you down, tell someone you love them, do whatever you have to do to make your own self the happiest. No matter what you do in your life, you’re always going to have people criticize you, so just be you.

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Emily Raleigh is a senior at Harlan County High School and is a member of the Bear Tracks newspaper staff and a student in the communications/creative writing class at HCHS. This is a continuing series of columns produced by student writers.