by Mandie Carsten

Self esteem is the best thing to have but the hardest to keep. With life’s many roller coasters, it’s hard to maintain that state of mind where you can say to yourself “Okay, I’m happy with who I am”.

People judge left and right, whether or not they know you. But you need to be a step a head, move forward and don’t feed into it. Keep your head up, automatically think of all the pros of just being you, the wonderful opportunities you have been able to have. You can have goals, but make them small and easily achievable, then build on them until you reach your main goal. That way you’re not putting yourself down, but showing yourself that “hey I can do this”!

Being a teenager that moved across the country and  thrown into a high school of 3,000 other teens, I can honestly say I was at a total loss. My world flipped upside-down. I was told many hurtful things. It took me a long time to figure out whose judgement is really important. It’s not the people who put you down everyday, it’s not your acquaintances, and it’s not your 500 friends on facebook. It’s you! That’s why its called self-esteem. It’s something you have the ability to control, so don’t let someone take that away. Don’t be the person to take it away either. There’s always a better way to deal with things that doesn’t create more  problems.