Tessa allowed herself another smile, at that. She hoped she wouldn't stay stuck in this in-between stage of angst and self-doubt forever, but she supposed when one's life and work could presumably continue indefinitely, it made sense that there would be occassional periods of introspection, frustration, and rediscovery of one's identity. There would be mistakes, but also opportunity to learn from them.
And, on the bright side, there weren't as many people criticizing her as she had been afraid of. Those who had...well, perhaps she should cut them some slack, since they were dealing with issues of their own. "I just wish I knew what exactly I'm supposed to be learning from all this."