“Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence.” Helen Keller
One thing you will learn hopefully early on in life, but if you’re me -- in college -- is that without confidence you’ll get nowhere. Simple as that. Having confidence in yourself is key to achieving what you truly want in life. It’s what drives you to make risky decisions without hesitation and diminishes all the self-doubt (or at least most of it) that usually goes on in one’s head. I am someone that falls victim to the self-doubt and the non-risk taking aspect. I can tell you right now, it brings you down and you never go forward. Being in school, there’s a ton of stress that’s on your shoulders of doing well and graduating on time. But that’s not something that’s impossible to overcome. You just have to believe in yourself and know that you can do it. It is so much easier said than done but it is something you can work at and slowly attain.
When I first decided to change my major to pharmacy, I had confidence that I could do it. I felt that I could get into pharmacy school and become a successful pharmacist. But as soon as I took my first chemistry class, it all went downhill. After pretty much failing my first midterm, I lost all hope that I would ever do well again. Hell, I thought there was no way I’d even make it to pharmacy school with my poor test taking skills. But I learned to not let that one bad grade dictate what I was capable of and studied harder. Believe it or not, I did better on the next exam. And with that one good grade, I was able to gain a little bit of confidence to help me with my next obstacle. It never helps to sit and whine about what could have been or why something didn’t happen. Through much experience, I can tell you it is a complete waste of your time. Life is too short to live in the past and worry about things that won’t matter anymore, so do yourself a favor and just let it go. Trust me -- you’ll feel much, much better.
Confidence is what allows us to lead our lives with optimism and faith. It is what guides us, what motivates us to do our very best and what ultimately helps us achieve success.
