I am a perfectionist – I literally need things to be perfect all of the time, whether that means drawing a straight line or how my hair looks. My friends always joke about how I have OCD when it comes to the smallest things, and I laugh along with them because I know I act crazy about the most insignificant details.

The thing about being a perfectionist is that it comes with a lot of negative connotations and, honestly, being a perfectionist can be really hard. For starters, things always take so much longer than they really should. I end up spending an hour on something that could have only taken 20 minutes. Not only do things take longer, but the amount of stress I put on myself is ridiculously large. I want to make sure everything is being done in a timely and well-thought-out manner, which means that I have to clearly set time aside to do whatever it is I need.

When I ask my fellow peers if they like being a perfectionist, many of them say no which is definitely understandable. But I would like to shed some light on the positives of being someone who needs everything to be flawless.

Perfectionism means you are reliable and get the job done. Seeing that you want to make sure everything is done right, that means that you will have everything completed, such as a class project, on time and looking pristine! Your knack for eyeing rugged design, a missing comma or a lack of evidence, ultimately makes you extremely responsible and organized. You are probably the one everyone comes to in a time of crisis because they know that you can handle it.

With this, it also means that you’re incredibly independent and mature. You know how to get things done in your own way, allowing you to balance a lot of different activities, assignments, and workloads. You can quickly learn how to approach a task at hand and provide yourself with a thorough explanation. In fact, you’re extremely thorough in everything that you do.

Finally, I’m not saying that everyone else’s homework, project or essays aren’t as good as yours, BUT your assignments and literally anything else you do in your life is probably drop-dead amazing. I’m serious. If someone were to choose your assignment to be a model, it would probably be yours. Being a perfectionist and spending relentless hours to make sure that everything you do is perfect will definitely be apparent at the end — your tendency to check every little detail shows.

So, the next time you’re called a perfectionist go ahead and laugh along with whoever said that, and then appreciate what they said about you. Although perfection is not necessarily realistic within life and mistakes are ultimately inevitable, the way you strive to obtain that perfection makes you who you are.