Can we stop disrespecting our early work?

I used to hide screenshots of my first design projects like they were bad report cards. One website had no spacing. The buttons looked like Skittles. The font? Comic Sans energy.

But here’s the twist: That same project landed me my first three paying clients.

Why? Because I showed up. Because I finished something. Because I wasn’t talking about being a designer—I was being one.

We spend so much time deleting our “early content.” editing old posts, burying our beginner work like a crime scene.

But honestly? That’s the part you should be proud of.

Those ugly flyers? They taught you alignment. That slow website? It taught you about optimization. That awkward client call? It taught you boundaries.

Early work is not your shame. It’s your foundation.

And if you’re still judging your skills based on where you started, pause. The fact that you even cringe now? That’s proof of growth.

Respect the beginning. Even if it was messy. Especially if it was messy.

Because no one gets to version 2.0 without version 0.5 that almost broke them.