Confidence and Self-Esteem were best friends that did everything together; One day, Peer Pressure started harassing by using hateful words. It was so dreadful that Confidence lost her best friend, Self-Esteem. Confidence began to hang around with Doubt, Depression, and Low Self-Esteem. Self-Esteem no longer felt good about herself because she did not have any friends. Desperate to get her friend back, Self-Esteem went to Encouragement and pleaded for her to help Confidence. When Encouragement found Confidence, she gave her a hug and comforted her to bring herself back to the happy, vibrant girl. Self-Esteem and Confidence were once again reunited as best friends. I believe that self-esteem and confidence is the perfect accessory to add to the outfit of success. When I was younger, I had extremely low self-esteem which caused me to be depressed. I used to hate myself with a passion: I hated my weight; I hated my face; I hated my height; I hated my thighs. Every part of me wanted to change into the beautiful women on magazines. These thoughts caused me to plummet further down the dark abyss of sorrow which seemed to have no escape. My great disdain for myself made me isolate myself from everyone else around me because if I hated myself, then who would possibly want to be my friend? I remember having “friends” in fourth grade. These so-called friends constantly made me feel less than dirt: they called me fatty, ugly, loser, weirdo, and useless. Yet these same people came to me when they needed help. I maintained my loyalty to them expecting my situation to change,but it did not. Whoever came up with “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me” was obviously a liar. By me continuing to be around individuals who made me feel like a nonentity, I confirmed that those words were true. I got used to fatty, ugly, loser, weirdo, and useless because the more I heard it, the more I believed it. At that point, I was completely at rock bottom, and saw no value in me other being smart; Several people are smart, so what made me different from everybody else? Everyone from the staff to my classmates have helped contribute my bloom into a bright, yellow daffodil that I am today. In fifth grade, I was quiet like a mouse. Then, in 6th and 7th grade, I began to work with ...and ..., respectively. They made me give speeches in front of classes and even in front of the entire school body. Before the speeches I would always tell them, "I'm shy" and laugh it off; however, that was not a valid excuse for them apparently, so I, a girl so tall like a Californian palm tree yet with only a grain of confidence, stood straight and said, "Good Morning. As you already know Spirit Week is coming soon. Your spirit color is green. Your outfit needs to be at least 50% green. Keep in mind that your outfit has to follow the ... dress code: no sweatpants, big logos, sleeveless shirts, or shorts. These speeches were
