My Pursuit Of Insecurity

When I was about 5-years-old, I was the only one in my Kindergarten class that was not frightened of the dentist. I was the only child for as long as I can remember who absolutely adored going to see my dentist; I thought it was better than going to the Science Center, which was a big deal for a child in my generation. Growing up, I watched people’s faces twitch with (terror, panic, dismay) as I explained that it was my ultimate dream to become a dental hygienist. “What if a child bites you?” “The human mouth is disgusting! Do you not realize the horror of this occupation?” Listening to people question and insult my dreams only enhanced my dedication to this occupation even more. I was determined to prove them wrong; to prove that this was

I never thought anything of teeth when I was in elementary school. Every kid was snaggle toothed and knocking their pearly whites out while rough housing on the playground. Despite all of the carefree childsplay and good intentions, we reach a moment where we begin to realize our blemishes and imperfections. We constantly compare ourselves to those around us. At the ripe age of nine, the truths of the comparative society infected my young mind. A young mind now open to the criticism of the media, the criticism of my peers, but most of all, the criticism of the voices in my head. I was no longer a carefree child, but a preteen who could no longer see myself in my purest form, but as a product of social constructs and public standards. I

Self confidence is the foundation of success, achievement, and happiness. Unfortunately, the foundation of self confidence can become shaky and unstable if someone that you look up to as a role model hurts your self esteem and courage. One of the biggest role models in my life used to be my first club soccer coach. He seemed brilliant, passionate, and willing to work with my team. This man soon became the complete opposite of what I hoped he would be. I soon realized that he was a two faced liar and one of the most awful people I have ever met. Little did my ten year old self know he would be the downfall of my self confidence and he would slowly destroy any passion I had for the sport I loved all with only a few words.

As children and young adults we struggle to know who we are and what we are to be. It’s a struggle to understand the man or woman God has designed us to be. Even now at the age of 35 somehow I still question the woman I am suppose to be. Somehow its always easier to believe the negative things people have said about you in your past instead of the things that God has to say about you. I remember in my high school years there was this girl that took every chance she could to tell me how much I looked like Miss Piggy. I remember going home and looking at my pinkish colored skin thinking I do look like Miss Piggy. Not only was I pink in my mind, my cheeks were as chubby as hers and my body just as round as hers. Imagine going through high school believing these kinds of things about yourself or even worse being an

Your memory is an ability that you have, just like any other ability. It isn 't something you own or don 't own.

Have you ever felt like a failure? Like you simply weren’t good enough? Like people expected way too much from you? If you’ve ever felt this way, it may be due to the idea of perfection that is inculcated into the minds of many in the twenty-first century. The idea behind perfection is linked to feelings of failure, insecurities, and depression. This has caused mental harm, particularly to women and teenagers of our time. Perfection embodies completeness and flawlessness, an idea that does not exist in human form. Although it may cause for humans to strive for their best, perfection should not be admired nor sought after since it is an unattainable goal that society has set for itself. This pursuit of perfection has caused for humans to accept the doctrine of idealism, leading to emotional harm that is often overlooked as perfection becomes our main objective.

According to the textbook, the self-esteem is defined as “a person’s evaluation of his or her attributes or the positive or negative valence associated with those attributes”. Looking back at my childhood, it is difficult to rate my self-esteem in certain areas. This is due to the fact that I have never put these areas separately but rather as a whole.

People’s self-esteem either high or low is shaped by their life experiences. I believe a person’s self-esteem begins to take shape at an early age, with their parents being a major influence. Kind, positive, knowledgeable and caring parents help children create a positive self-image. Parents who do not feel good about themselves or others, sometimes take it out on their childern by belittling them or discouraging them. This leads the child down a path of self-doubt and eventually given the right circumstances a lower self-esteem.

Insecurity drills a hole into a person’s heart, minimizes their integrity, and accumulates as plaque build up, hindering any kind of future growth. Just as any human being’s growth is stifled by the insecurity within them, the United States as a whole suffers the same from its own tremendous amount of insecurity. This lack of acknowledgement of self-worth causes a ghastly chain reaction; people tend to pursue the wrong ideals, become corrupt, and inevitably lead themselves to their own demise. Insecurity is a route to destruction, and America is speeding down that road to dissolution.

This man, like me, was missing most of his teeth. But he, unlike me, was not waiting for his permanent teeth to arrive. I had to devise a plan to get this man to smile again. As the resident tooth puller on Lincoln Street, I looked forward to an opportunity to utilize my hands. One tooth pulling lemonade stand attempt and small collection of my teeth later, my illicit dental practice came to an abrupt halt. My mother, then

“Get action. Seize the moment. Don 't dwell on the inner darkness of yourself” (TR, An American Lion)

The self-immolation of Thích Quảng Đức during the Vietnam War is one of the most recognized images from the 20th century. The photo of the burning monk has been circulated throughout thousands of newspapers, and president John F. Kennedy remarked that “no news picture in history has generated so much emotion around the world as that one.” Former U.S. Senator Frank Church, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told the press that "such grisly scenes have not been witnessed since the Christian martyrs marched hand in hand into the Roman arenas." This quote in particular is reflective of the American perception on self-immolation and other types of self-sacrifice, where Christian motifs are used for comparison for how we perceive Quảng Đức’s act. The American perspective is inherently molded by Christian ideals, and if we compare that to Vietnam’s perspective, we find that the two viewpoints are more different that most assume. This project will demonstrate American and Vietnamese perspectives during the Vietnam War on the subject of self-immolation. The self-immolation of Thích Quảng Đức is one of the most recognizable images of the war, and it causes a lot of discussion on what the true value of the Vietnam War was for the parties involved. If we can’t answer why the media from the countries involved presented the self-sacrifice of Thích Quảng Đức the way they did, then we can’t understand how the viewpoints from a Christian and non-Christian

Lauren Slater, in her article “The Trouble with Self-Esteem” starts out by stating that self-esteem is generally regarded as a positive thing. A person of high self-esteem is a successful well-respected member of society, with the opposite being true for a person of low self-esteem. She explains that in the social science and psychological world this notion has been rarely challenged until recently. She shares examples of many papers and essays whose premise is to contradict these well-accepted ideas. She goes on to cite that we as Americans focus on self-esteem, creating associations and task forces to aid in the development of self-esteem.

Research has offered that students who feel self-complacent are more likely to succeed. As learners, we have all experienced this feeling of being confident of our capacities to do something, and this of course, has to do with the great desire, especially in academic setting. Thus, it can be said that SLA has a relation with psychology. Self-esteem is a psychological expression used to reflect someone’s overall evaluation of his/her own worth. It refers to the evaluative and affective aspects of the self, to how "good" or "bad" we feel toward ourselves. It is the outcome of the self’s capacity for reflexivity; that is, the capability to look at one’s self and to evaluate what one sees. Actually, self-esteem is a very important factor in SLL and academic achievements because when learners do not trust in their capacities, or have the so called “low self-esteem”, this will lead to “academic failure”. Thus, it can be said that, its absence produces the suspicion on learners’ own abilities which lead them to perform a low outcome due to lack of self- confidence. (James1890; White, 1959; Coopersmith, 1959, 1967; Rosenberg, 1965, 1979; Branden, 1969, 1994; and Mruk 1999, 2006). Over and above, students who have low self -esteem are more likely to experiment anxiety. Consequently, it can be said that anxiety is the motive of low self- esteem.

In a society that tells everyone what they need to wear, how they need to look, and what they need to buy mental health disorders are only increasing. Things such as depression, anxiety, and eating disorders are at an all time high. The main cause of these disorders is low self esteem. People feel like they are not good enough because they aren’t the perfect image of society. Our society isn’t at a place where it’s going to change its ways overnight. However, exercise is proven to help with self esteem. In a society where many have low self esteem it is necessary to take steps to change that. It starts within every person deciding they’re going to improve and exercise regularly.