[Solivagant]

Hey Matthew

Firstly, belated Happy Birthday!!

We all can't be good at every single thing. Some people are good at dissection, others are good at sports or singing or dancing. We all have our areas of perfection. It is perfectly okay to not be good at something. It is a very normal thing.

Thinking too much about the issue will only increase your anxiety. Instead of thinking about messing up the instructions, just think about giving it your best shot. The idea is to think about it differently. In such situations I try to think about what I'd think about someone who messes up. And when I realize that it won't even matter, it calms me down.

Now about your birthday, you can try doing things differently. Give a new meaning to this day. Usually on my birthdays, the first thing I do is visit the Temple and thank God for everything that I have. For my 18th birthday I have plans to donate blood. You can spend your day at orphanage and do something for the kids over there or give them some of your old videos that you don't need anymore. The idea is to look beyond material things.

I hope that this helps.
If you need to talk about anything, feel free to VM/PM me.
Take care