Building Confidence: Lessons from a Teenage Journey

In my middle high school years, I remember coming to the realisation that confidence is probably the most important thing in life to have if you want to take on things and live life to the full. It was clear to me that the girls who were confident and certain of themselves were getting ahead. From then on I made a concerted effort to create strategies on how to develop more self-confidence.

My strategy was volunteering for different roles and activities to put myself out there and develop my capabilities in different areas. This led me to do all sorts of things, some of which embarrassed me and made others cringe. One that comes to mind is the Year 12 Charity Concert, which attracted a big audience of family and friends. My mum had planted the idea in my head that I had a good voice and I began to believe it; so much so that I took on a solo piece.

On that night, I realised I couldn’t sing all that well. It didn’t seem to deter me from later auditioning for the AFL Grand Final with the Australian Girls’ Choir and giving myself another shot at it.