One of the hardest things in the world for many people is learning to embrace - and not apologize - for what they are worth. It's tricky for a couple of reasons: from birth, we're trained to be humble; many of us struggle with low self worth or self esteem; and for those of us that are not white, upper-middle class males, society isn't really built to accommodate.

As a young woman, I've experienced sexism firsthand. For several years I worked in and with the defense industry, where I was often the only woman in the room. I learned the hard way that the way I expressed myself, often more quietly or subtly, was ineffective. It allowed others to perceive me as weak, or unwilling to stand behind my ideas.

I then spend a few years teaching. If you weren't aware, teaching is one of the hardest jobs in the world - seriously. I've never been so tired, overwhelmed, or pulled in a million directions than when I taught. But the perception we as the public have is different. We view teachers as lazy; we blame any struggles our children face on them. We assume that, since teachers are so common, it must not be that hard.