First off, I also wish to thank you, Kaitlin, for having the courage to share your personal experience with us. I know full well that there is always a certain amount of vulnerability involved in opening up (especially to strangers) but that the potential rewards of when others sincerely respond to this in kind are often well worth the risk.
Like Jeff, I too am a firm believer that nothing worth having in life is ever attained easily. As such, I have always strived to constantly push myself and test my limits. In the process, I'd like to think that I have somehow gained a stronger sense of self-knowledge and self-ownership.
I had often believed myself to be a person for whom learning new things seemed to just always come naturally, and that to expect any less of myself was simply unacceptable.
In retrospect, I have found that the short time in which I have studied Aikido thus far has already given me greater patience with myself than I had once thought possible. I've learned to go easier on myself if I'm not quite catching onto something new right away, to accept that I will learn at my own pace, concern myself less with the pace of others (I was raised by extremely competitive parents) and simply to enjoy the journey.
All the best to you on that journey of your own.