Advice For-Confidence.

Hey guys,

This is a bit of a different blog post today. I got an email from a girl who reads my blog, but doesn't have one herself and doesn't want people to know her name or anything like that, so I'll respect that. She asked me if I could do a blog post in my advice section on how to remain confident when things are getting you down. I was quite touched by her email and some of the things that she said. She's a really lovely girl but it's sad that she feels so unconfident. She's 11 years old and found that moving to senior school really shook her. She got into an independent school and the rest of her friends went to a completely different school, all together and she feels quite left out. My advice for this kind of situation is a very personal kind. I went through the exact same thing when I left junior school and I found it hard to adjust. I know that everyone says it, but joining clubs or extra curricular activities really can help.

1-Joining In: Even though the thought of joining a new club where everyone may already be friends or more confident than you is daunting, I found that joining at least one club during my first month at senior school helped me to get to know people and become more confident, if only a tiny bit more!

2-Find an outlet: Whenever things get tough, inside or outside of school, or whenever you're feeling down or worried or nervous, try and find an outlet for those feelings. My outlet has always been my writing, and I found that making my characters happy, made me feel better or making them sad and then letting them get through the tough times, helped me to realise that there was always a chance that things will get better. Whatever you most enjoy doing, dancing, drawing, playing sport or even something as simple as playing computer games, make it so that you can vent when you're doing that and then you should find that you'll forget about whatever's going on for a little while at least.

3-Think Positively: I know it sounds really obvious that thinking postively will make you feel happier, but that's not always the case, and some people, like me, have to work really hard at thinking of something that can make your mood lift considerably. Perhaps think of your family, or friends or pet or your favourite film, or book or TV show...create a little box in your mind to open that is filled with happy times, memories and smiles so that you won't ever HAVE to feel sad even if things are not going too well.

I hope this kind of helps some of you, especially the girl who emailed me.

Live*Laugh*Love :)

Katie xx