So, Karlie Kloss’ “awkward” teen pics are actually adorable

I think we can all agree Karlie Kloss has got herself together, and even that might be an understatement. She’s only 23 years old and is already one of the most sought after faces in the fashion industry. But Karlie is more than just a pretty face; she heads up her very own scholarship program for young women called “Koding With Karlie.” And most recently, you may have seen her alongside BFF Taylor Swift in the awesome VMA-winning music video for “Bad Blood.” Even with all that amazingness going on, Karlie is the first to admit that finding self-confidence was a long journey.

Kloss recently posted a new video on her YouTube channel, Klossy, and in it she dished about her long struggle to find self-confidence. She said, “As a kid, I was really tall and skinny and awkward and gangly — and I wasn’t confident. I’ve always been very open with my friends and family, but when it came to getting in front of a crowd, I always used to be very self-conscious and shy. I would go into a shell and just be very quiet.”

Here is photographic evidence of Kloss’s “awkward” times, but we have to say, she still looks pretty adorable.

Kloss worked hard to conquer her fears, which she says she was able to do thanks to ballet. She says ballet helped her learn to cope with anxiety by channeling it into something productive. That’s definitely a difficult lesson to learn, but such an important one.

She also admits that mistakes are inevitable — even for her. She mentions one specific time she tripped on the Fendi runway in 2010. Yikes. The difference is though, now she doesn’t let the little mistakes bother her. She closes the video with some amazing advice that we all need reminding of sometimes: “All you can do is do your best. Even when you make mistakes, sometimes those can be the most important experiences to learn from.” Thanks for the reminder, Karlie.

(Images via YouTube.)