Confidence is a funny thing. As a society, we strive to obtain it, but once we do, it is seen as arrogance. So, what is the difference? The meaning of confidence varies from person to person, but for me, confidence is the ability to believe in yourself even in times when others do not. It is something you must practice to maintain-- as is every other skill. To practice confidence, I say positive things to myself such as "you got this" or "it just takes practice" instead of "there is no way I can do this" or "I am dumb." I guess this is also called having a growth mindset (they must go hand-in-hand). Like I mentioned earlier, I feel like people don't like when others celebrate themselves. It is a weird thing to say, but especially in high-school, making fun of yourself or limiting your potential is sometimes seen as "cool." That is something I will never understand. I think that is why some people view having confidence as just being arrogant. There is a fine line between the two. I think arrogance is exaggerating your importance through bragging whereas confidence doesn't have to be spoken to other people. Confidence is a vibe or energy you give off. To have confidence, you don't necessarily need to tell everyone about your success or worth because they can probably already see it.
The reason people struggle with confidence stems from a numerous amount of reasons; the main culprit: social media. For example, with things like Photoshop, AirBrush, or filters, it is easy to distort what you actually look like. For all we know, you just posted a picture of you by the pool and tagged France for the location. In reality, you are probably on your couch sleeping with a cat next to you... no hate to the cat. These outlets are the perfect recipe to destroy your confidence. With the temptations of adjusting your skin tone, whitening your teeth, or changing your body shape, people don't know what is real and what is fake. I am not going to lie. I do tend to put filters on my photos to enhance the colors and choose my favorite photo out of the ones taken. Showing my genuine and happiest self is something I will always being working on; I have made progress though.
I have now limited my time on social media because I was sacrificing my confidence for it. Instead of spending countless hours on my device, I surround myself with people who make me feel proud to be who I am. I have started to wear things that make me feel comfortable and happy-- no matter what society deems the "trend" right now. And most importantly, I have realized that I don't need the approval of others to have confidence in my own capabilities. That is what makes me the confident person I am-- and I am proud of it... 👋 🌎 🎙
P.S. the day this is being published is also my mom's birthday...Happy Birthday, MOM! 🎂
Remember to stay positive, stay inspired, and change the world. Bye, everybody!
