Surrounded by Confidence

During my high school career, I had times where I felt like I was disappointing my teammates. Whether it was for volleyball or basketball, FFA, or life in general, there were many moments where I felt as though I wasn’t capable of doing something. My coaches always told me I was too hard on myself - that if I just had confidence I would be so much better. But the thing about confidence is that you don’t just “get” confidence. It’s something you have to work towards, a mindset that is extremely hard to grasp when you’ve never truly held any.  Towards the end of my volleyball career, a younger teammate of mine gave me a bracelet that was red, white, and blue; on the inside, the quote “You are capable of amazing things” was written. If you know me, you know that I have a love for America like no other, which means you won’t be surprised I wore this bracelet each and every day. But if you also know me, you know that I can be forgetful. Because of this it didn’t take long for me to lose this bracelet. It was upsetting, and when I went out for breakfast with one of my friends, I made sure to let her know just how frustrated with myself I was. But in turn she said, “Cait, it’s a bracelet, and one that can be replaced. It’s okay.” As the months went on though, I still hadn’t gotten around to replacing the bracelet. Christmas came to, and I found myself eating breakfast with that same friend to celebrate the holiday. After we were done eating we went outside to exchange gifts. I was expecting something red, white, and blue; however, I wasn’t expecting her to give me the same bracelet I had lost months ago. This time it wasn’t given to me because of the colors though - it was because of the quote that was inside of it. “You are capable of amazing things” was a quote that my friend truly believed, and the reminder helped get me through some tough times throughout my senior year.  Two months before I started preparing to run for state office, I again lost the bracelet. I didn’t tell anyone because I was embarrassed of having lost it for a second time. I looked for it everywhere, but couldn’t seem to find it. I figured it would show up when I least expected it to, so I decided not to worry about it. There was no sense in fretting over something I couldn’t control.  And it showed up when I needed it the most. The first night of preparing for state office, I sat in the Ag room at South Newton terrified for what I was about to do. As I was waiting to get started, I felt something in the pocket of the flannel I was wearing. Reaching in I pulled out my bracelet that I had lost months ago. I flipped it over and read the quote again. “You are capable of amazing things.” A quote that I desperately needed to hear reappeared, giving me reassurance that I was taking the right path in running for state office.          Sometimes in life all we need is someone to believe in us. I wear my bracelet each day to remind myself that I have people that believe in me, even when I don’t believe in myself. Confidence is a difficult thing to gain, and having a reminder that there is confidence surrounding you never hurts.  You are capable of amazing things, Caitlyn Lewis