All of my parents’ tutoring,while well-intentioned and meant to prepare us for whatever the world might throw at us, had the opposite effect on me. I couldn’t relax ; I felt that I always had to be on and ready. It started to break me down, crippling the confidence they thought it was building. My parents never wanted us to be limited; to feel inferior or stuck. But in trying to create these “perfect” students of life, they did limit us. I found myself becoming paralyzed — the fear of getting anything wrong overpowered me. If you look at school pictures of me as a kid, you can tell I didn’t know whether I should be smiling or not. I sometimes still feel that way.