One of my issues is that, although my grades on projects, exams, assignments, etc., are well above average, I tend to zoom in on the mistakes that I make and be

One of my issues is that, although my grades on projects, exams, assignments, etc., are well above average, I tend to zoom in on the mistakes that I make and beat myself up for them. Weird kludges, or silly bugs, etc. So I don't brag about projects that have flaws, which is all of the nontrivial/interesting ones, because I feel like I'll get judged just based on those, and anything I did right won't count. I think this is partly a gender thing and partly a parenting thing. (HS Me: Look, I got 98% in Japanese! Dad: Where's the other 2%!? Me: sadface.) Guys brag about their projects a lot, and what they say sounds really good, so I often assume their projects are better than mine and that they're better programmers. (Even though I probably got a better grade, and when I actually get a chance to dip down and see their source code it's usually not so hot either, at least by the standards I measure myself by.) End result, even though I might be 'exceptional' grades-wise, I have this mentality that I'm just good at school, not good at programming (compared to peers). Extremely stupid, but if you really really don't want to believe in yourself you can always rationalize it somehow. Your GF is above-average just for being there, since most female students (or potential female students) get scared off, and she's still getting it done. "Victory belongs to the most persevering." - Napoleon Bonaparte