Confidence

Confidence is a characteristic that every person needs to have. It is something that allows people to many things. Having confidence makes the things you do in life, no matter how hard the task or how big the obstacle, reachable. Confidence gives one courage to step outside of their normal comfort zone and try something new. People with a lack of confidence seem to live a bland life. They do not take risks or do things that are abnormal to them. I believe that over time, my confidence in myself has continually been increasing, from all the things I've done in my life such as sports or being in a school environment. One of the things that has recently increased my confidence was my first soccer game at TLU. Before my first game I was unsure if I would be able to play soccer at the collegiate level. I mean I have great faith in my capabilities, but this being my first time to experience it first hand made me wonder.  After my first game my eyes had been opened to a new world of skill. But the way I preformed in the game made me very excited because I saw that I was capable of playing at the collegiate level. This event greatly boosted my confidence and gave me motive to keep going and keep improving my sports career. Similar situations these present themselves in the classroom, such as struggling in my math class. Calculus is very confusing and difficult for me to understand. Not succeeding in calculus like I am use to in other subjects such as history or science really makes me work hard to keep my confidence up. But when I go to my teacher for extra help and he is able to explain what we are learning in ways I better understand. Reaching the point where I can be confident in my ability to solve math problems makes me happier than a little kid getting candy. I am very thankful for everything that has happened throughout my life that has given me the ability to continually increase my confidence in myself and the things I do. I would like to offer a strategy for those who are having a hard time finding confidence - Take whatever aspect of life you are struggling with and take baby steps to work your way up, which allows you to slowly increase your confidence.