Never doubt the power of self-esteem

Have you ever heard the song in which a line says “learning to love yourself is the greatest love of all?” Well, this is just to let you know these words hold a great deal of truth. In life there are always people who will try to bring you down, as well as there are those who will try to lift you up. Unfortunately, we become a bit sceptical about those who are genuinely trying to lift us after we have encountered so many of those with bad intentions. Believe me good people are quite difficult to find. What I am about to say may surprise the majority of you who may think: “Geez, this child is crazy!” But it is something I have to say.

When I was younger I had low self-esteem. It was so low that I hesitated every time I had to cross the street alone! Friends (the true ones) and family began to worry about me, but they didn’t know what to do. Of course, other “friends” continued to assist in lowering my self-esteem. Thank God I have been able to rid my system of these “friends.” By some miracle I began a teaching job after school. I call it a miracle because I was actually able to speak to more than one person at the interview, but at this point my self-esteem was still deep down in the gutter. Then I got a job at Newsday, and it has done so much for me. I have grown a lot and now my peace of mind is so strong that no one and nothing can disturb it.

What made me discover even more confidence in myself is the fact that people actually read my columns and respond to them. The many phone calls that I have received and the positive responses, made me find such confidence in myself, that it was almost unbelievable. Thank you so much. The phone calls touch me so deeply and give my confidence such a boost, that it is genuinely priceless. One caller even inspired me to further my education, something that I have been putting off for the longest while. Thank you so much for that. I have noticed that low self-esteem is quite prevalent among the young and I plead with teachers and parents to take a closer look at them. Do not say things to hurt children and make them feel less of themselves. It starts from very young. A child’s self-esteem must be raised from the time they are born.

Just telling a child he is stupid at the tender age of two may scar him for life. These are the things that children will remember for the rest of their lives. To those of you who have low self-esteem remember that there is always hope. Do not resort to some foolish act that may ruin your entire life. Remember a bad start makes a good ending. Try to remove all the negative things from your life. If there are friends who help to lower your self-esteem, stay far away from them. Relatives too, try to lower your self-esteem. Try talking to them and let them know how you feel. As for fellow villagers, let’s just say the majority never like to see others succeed so just ignore them. They’re not worth your time or the energy you would use to cry about it.

Accept and appreciate who you are and know that you are unique, there is no one else in this world exactly like you. Do not allow anyone to make you feel like you’re not worth it. You are wonderful. I would really like to thank my readers for all that they have done for me, because of you and all the other good folks that I have met in my life, I am now able to hold my head up high. There is hope after all. Just be true to yourself. Assess yourself and see what you can do to improve yourself. Yes, there is always room for improvement but that does not mean you should not be happy with who you are now. Always remember no one is perfect and never think you’re not good enough because you are even better!