Confidence means understanding yourself and the decisions you make. Also, it means believing in your actions and making others believe in you, too. Confidence is similar to being brave, because for both you have the ability to take a risk and feel good about it. Still, there is a difference between confidence and bravery because confidence can support you when you are frightened or nervous. Jim Abbott possessed confidence when he played baseball games and when he tried out for a team, especially without a right hand. I show confidence when I am in a nerve-wracking situation and need to believe in myself and what I do. Confidence helps Jim Abbott and I change our community and make it a better place, for others to come.

Jim Abbott used confidence when he was practicing after school hours. In the text, written by EL Education, on page 2, it states, “He spent hours throwing a rubber ball against a brick wall and catching it on the rebound.” Basically, he would show all the confidence he had when he would bat and catch the ball. Also, on page 2, the article says, “He was able to generate remarkable power, blasting seven homers and batting an excellent .427 as a senior.” Just as his power to bat, his level of confidence is remarkable. His actions encouraged young children with disabilities to play the sports they love. If Jim Abbott hadn’t used confidence, who knows what kids would have missed their once in a lifetime chance.

Another person who shows confidence is me. Through these past five years many of my pets passed away. This was very hard for both sides of my immediate family (my dad's side and my mom's side). Five chickens died, three cats, two dogs, two guinea pigs, one bird, too many fish to count, and we had to give two animals away. I have really needed to use confidence to get through the days following each incident. It was really hard for me to go to school in a good mood after all the chaos during the weekend and share with my classmates that one of my animals had passed away. Luckily, I was able to get through this tough time. Friends and family were there to support me, which elevated my confidence level a lot. With all of my confidence I then had the ability to help my family members gain their confidence. Currently I am using confidence for motivation during my projects to help animals in need. I have made dog toys, dog treats, and even written letters home to families about possibly adopting an animal. In the future I plan to keep helping animals and create a learning program for blind children. Now I can see the confidence that was in Jim Abbott, within me.

In order for me to make my personal confidence into a high quality piece of artwork, I needed to make big decisions on how to make a design. First, I needed a font that could embody my story. Then, I had to find the perfect font color that could show confidence, but still could convey my story. When I was brainstorming ideas for a font I wanted something shaded because in my personal story it took time to gain all of my confidence possible. Then I found the font Fredericka The Great. Fredericka The Great was curvy throughout and it had pointy edges, it was absolutely perfect for my story! It had the mountains and the valleys that represented the hardship of regaining all of my confidence. I chose a lavender as my font color because when you use confidence it is a strong and bold quality, which led me to purple. Originally I wanted a soft color because when all of my animals passed I felt light, as in lifeless, sullen, and dull. After debating I landed on lavender. Lavender tied all of the actions of confidence, and the emotions that I possessed when my animals passed away.

Using confidence has helped Jim Abbott and I change our community and world, while making it a better place, for others after our change. Whenever an incident like this happens to another student or fellow friend I hope that I can help them regain their confidence, just like others have helped me. Any leader of social change should use confidence in their work because it can change a speech into something moving and persuasive. Even your actions and decisions should be made with confidence. It is important to remember that everyone has had tragic incidents happen, but you can only get through if you believe in your level of confidence.