Students Self Confidence

Post date: Oct 06, 2016 3:38:10 PM

By Emily Glazer '17

A group of friends sit together at lunch. Friends can be a major factor in one’s self confidence. (Left to Right: Natalie Grober ‘17, Sydney Yee ‘17, Elena Kaufman ‘17, Rachel Yee ‘17)

Self confidence “is confidence in oneself and in one’s powers and abilities,” as defined by Merriam Webster. It is having trust in yourself; it is loving yourself; it is the thought of being happy with who you are. Unfortunately, there are 85 percent of people in the world who lack the virtues of self confidence, according to <self-esteem-school.com>, because of various factors. Being deficient in self confidence can often lead to depression, and people can be diagnosed as young as between the ages of twelve and seventeen. As of 2014, 11.4 percent of adolescents are diagnosed with depression, as stated by <nimh.nih.gov>. Imagine the percentage if everyone who has depression was diagnosed. The more people are aware of the struggle some face with self esteem, the more others will be able to help with boosting other people’s confidence and lowering the depression rate.

About 21 percent of students surveyed feel they have a low level of self esteem, and 51 percent of students feel they have an average level of self esteem, leaving only about 28 percent of students fully confident in themselves. Factors playing into these results are school, peers, celebrities, social media, sports and pressure from both parents and themselves. Friends, as well as lack of friends, played a bigger role in the younger grades. In the older grades, self image and being around certain people played the biggest roles in their self confidence. Public speaking and class presentations played an equal role throughout every grade.

The amount of students who feel depressed and have low self esteem because they are friendless at school is surprising. This was more prevalent in junior high, where some students are new to the school and are having trouble adjusting and meeting people. In high school some students are also feeling like “outcasts.”

Today, people don’t always have just friends, but sometimes have a specific “squad”- a specific group of friends which there is a common identity and sense of solidarity. A respondent of the survey, who doesn’t have many friends, is jealous of people with a squad and this causes him to feel depressed, but he is working on caring less about that and focusing on the friends he does have. Another student, in transition between genders, is ignored by their classmates and becomes extremely anxious, and also feels less-than, especially when it comes to the challenge of entering a bathroom. However, they are starting to realize that there is not as much to be anxious about as they thought.

School therapist, Susan Flowers, said that parents can also play a role in a student’s depression and self confidence. The home life of a student, determined by the parent, can make a child feel either good or bad about himself. Flowers also wants students to know that teachers can be a big help. They have the ability to see a change in a student's personality and guide the student into a positive direction.

The students with high self confidence have several methods of keeping their confidence at that level. A male student stated that he does feel confident in himself because he “confronts people with any issues” that he may have, while a female student feels that “I’ve grown in self confidence a lot, but the negative factors never go away.” The negativity may be difficult to overcome, but it can be lessened by thinking about the positivity in one's life. If you think confidently, you can be more confident. If you feel you are lacking self confidence or having symptoms of depression, just remember it gets better, and don’t hesitate to get help.