GIRL POWER SEPTEMBER 2013 | Page 20

Hey Montana! I’m starting school in a few weeks and I was wondering what advice you have for having good self-confidence. Thanks. Julie, age 14 Hi Julie! Self-confidence can be tricky at any age, in any situation. Somedays I have amazing selfconfidence, it normally happens when I’ve accomplished something big or knocked off everything on my to-do list and got a nap in, but other days, it can be hard to feel confident about myself. The easiest, along with the most difficult, part of good confidence is being confident in your own skin, with your own skills. For years, I hid, I decided that being invisible was better than having an inch of spotlight on me. This was because I wasn’t comfortable about myself and what was great about myself. In the past two years, I have realized that who I am is great! I am an advocate, I believe in young girls’ empowerment and I think people everywhere in the world deserve the same basic rights we are afforded. Be proud of all you do and all of your accomplishments, regardless if others are. A second piece of advice I can offer you, Julie, is don’t look at the fluffy, photoshopped magazines for confidence. I read magazines for years that had titles like “Gain Great Confidence In Three Easy Steps” or “These Jeans Will Have You Oozing Confidence” and those articles never ma