Are there certain situations where you feel most or least confident? In this month’s Open Workshop, youth participants break down what it means to be “confident” and realize it has a lot to do with how we are viewed by others.
Culinary Confidence
I feel most confident when I cook a meal. For the last few years, cooking has been my passion. I get to explore my abilities, try new things, and have people taste my creations. I have never cooked anything horribly, and have only learned how to make things better. It makes me feel good when I’ve perfected a recipe.
My mother has helped me perfect my snickerdoodle cookies. It is fun because my mother passes her culinary knowledge to me, and I get to taste the ‘cookies’ of my labor. The look of success and satisfaction on her face is what always gives me the most confidence.
-Jaleesa, 19
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Family Makes Me Confident
I feel most confident when I’m being silly with my family or loved ones. Or whenever I’m comfortable and feel included.
The person who makes me feel confident is my mommy. I’m confident with her and around her because she gave birth to me and accepts me no matter what. Also, my boyfriend, Mongsai makes me feel confident. He is so silly and dorky, he makes me feel special.
The time I felt most confident was when I was celebrating my birthday with friends and family. I was really confident, because I was surrounded by loved ones. They made me feel special and comfortable.
I feel least confident when I’m with people who are judging me…but I am who I am and I’m the greatest.
-Angelina, 16
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Being Myself
I feel most confident when I am myself. Being accepted for who I am gives me a great sense of confidence. I can them easily express my abilities and skills without hesitation.
I feel least confident when I’m forced to do things I’m not familiar with. Also, when I portray myself as a different person, I lose all my confidence. Performing skills I’m incapable of completing will decrease my confidence and boost my hesitation. When this happens, I usually do something wrong.
-Dasen, 18
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College Dreams
A time when I felt most confident was when I went on a college tour to several states. Before I went, everyone was congratulating me on what I was doing and even offered money for me to spend while I was gone. When I arrived back in Fresno everyone welcomed me back and wanted to know how everything went.
-LaKenya, 18
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Clean Confidence
A time in which I felt most confident was when I was fresh off the street and I got to take a shower. I felt mad gorgeous and fresh and from then on I named myself El Guapo Bandito (The Handsome Bandit). A time when I felt low confidence was when I was younger. I was considered ‘ugly’ by many of my family and peers. I usually would say forget ‘em and keep on going with my life.
-Marcus, 19
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Confidence At Work
I’m most confident when I’m around people I know, especially if they are as fun and as crazy as me. When I’m with my cousin, Vivian, I feel happy most of the time because she is fun, crazy and jokes a lot. With her, I can just laugh out at any time, anywhere and all the time. I’m also confident when I’m included in conversations.
I felt less confident when I used to work at Panda Express. They always told me that everything I was doing was wrong, especially when they are new co-workers and they know more than me. Due to the negative atmosphere, I quit. They could not appreciate my presence.
-Suzanna
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My Friends
When I am enclosed with love and have nothing to feel, but confidence. This strikes me most when I’m around my loving friends. And this is when I’m very worried about losing them. I’m confident with being myself and being myself is not very great. Me, I’m socially awkward and I might embarrass them and scare the most loving people away. It is weird to say I’m least confident when I’m most confident and comfortable with my friends. But should I be able to be my weird self, when I might push my friends away?
-Victoria, 16
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Confidence For Myself And Others
I have this guy friend named Luna, which is his last name. Luna is this person who fakes a smile. He puts it on everyday, but it is just an act. He constantly texts, calls or talks to me about how he is so useless and a nobody. I’m always asking him to stop or am trying to help him, but he continues to tell me he wants to kill himself. One day, I finally told him to just do it. He told me that he couldn’t and that he is glad that he has me, that I saved his life and that I keep him alive. All of this is a lot and it is hard for me to give him advice or confidence, when I barely have any myself.
-Sirena
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With Friends
I feel most confident when I’m around my friends. I feel like we can talk about anything and do almost anything. But I mostly feel comfortable with my girlfriend Angel. When I’m with her I feel that we can do anything. I feel I can show my true feelings, my true emotions.
I feel less confident when I’m with people who are better than me. I feel like they don’t want me around. They make me feel less than what I am.
-Mongsai
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In Control
Confidence comes to me in various ways. It comes when I am joking around and laughing with my friends. Confidence comes to me after rehearsing and performing skits in theatre or performing in karate. Confidence comes to me after making time for myself and putting myself back on track. It comes to me when I’m prepared, when I am given compliments, and when I get put downs. I feel confident even after being put down and facing negativity, because I turn the negativity into something positive; for example, I just tell myself people are always going to try and bring you down, but if you let them bring you down, then you are letting them control you. Being able to control my feelings, my thoughts, and myself gives me confidence.
-Arena, 17
In 2006, over 25 youth began participating in weekly after-school writing workshops where they congregated in the hallway of a two-story building in West Fresno and learned the essentials of creating media and telling their stories. The group evolved over the next five years and is now proudly recognized as The kNOw Youth Media.
Through our program, we create opportunities for our youth participants, who in turn create long-term positive change in their communities. Our approach weaves youth development and youth media innovation to produce our biannual youth publication, multimedia projects, and community forums.
The kNOw began as a project of New America Media, which was the country’s first and largest national collaboration and advocate of 2000 ethnic news organizations. In 2018 The kNOw became a project of Youth Leadership Institute.
