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It's not a secret that I stuggle with my low self esteem. My self confidence is almost zero. Especially the whole 'label' episode I went through in the last two years of high school left me with a dangerously low self esteem. But at some point, I realized I had to snap out of it. I'm not the only one suffering from low self esteem, I'm not the only one who thinks they can't do something while they're great at it. A lot of girls my age suffer from these symptoms in one way or another. Some blame the media, some blame the fashion industry, but blaming people doesn't exactly boost your self esteem. However, there are a few things you could try. WARNING: these methods were only tested on a single Envy. Success can not be guaranteed. Long term side effects unknown.

#1: Make a list
You might have noticed that I love making lists. I make lists for ust about everything. So when my self esteem is dangerously low and my self confidence has vaporized, I make a list of all the things I like about myself. For every negative remark I've heard I write down a positive feature. So my nose may be big, but my hands are small and beautiful. My face may be covered with pimples, but my legs are great and low maintenance. I may be socially awkward, but I can always make people laugh. I may have sucked at calculus, but I aced all statistics tests effortlessly.
After making a list like this, I always realize that I am not that bad. I have a lot of positive characteristics and those are way more important than the negative ones.

#2: Talk to your friends
When my list doesn't work, I turn to my friends. I'm talking about my real friends. Not the ones who tell you you can't sing when you're humming along to a song on the radio. I'm talking about the friends who've always been there for you. The ones who'll always support you. They are the ones who see all the truly beautiful parts of you and compliment you on them. Nothing will raise your spirits as much as a good friend's appreciation and support.

#3: Avoid the 'perfect' people
SOme girls have it all: the looks, the talent, the guys, the intelligence... and don't appreciate it. They can be your best friend, but sometimes it's better to create some distance between the two of you before you turn into a gigantic green monster - and I'm not talking about the Hulk this time.

Sorry, couldn't resist the urge XD

Honestly, I turn into one big ball of jealousy when I see one of my friends who has everything and then goes on complaining that her perfect boyfriend bought her 10 roses instead of 12 when she got a B on her test. Please, go away! I'm working hard with no result, I don't have a boyfriend, stop making me feel worthless!

#4: Meet new people
As hard as it can be when you don't even want to look at yourself in the mirror, try to get out and meet new people. When I came back from the Geography Olympiad, I felt so much better about myself. I met a whole new group of people who accepted me right away. No prejudices, no hard feelings. Just acceptance.
I think that meeting new people can be a great confidence booster. It always showed me that there are people in the world who don't care about my label. New people look at you and see a new page in their live. They will try to make that page as great as possible and care for who you are of they get the chance.

#5: Do new things
One of my friends calls this one 'Do random shit!!!' (yes, the exclamation marks are necessary). It's liberating and fun. When I do something new, I need all my attention to do this new thing, so there's no room for doubt and self hate.
New things give you the possibility to explore the world and discover new talents. And what's better for your self esteem than discovering that you've had this secret talent for toilet paper throwing?

#6: The Confidence Cap
This is a little trick I've stolen from a book. Choose a thing you like, a necklace for example or a scarf. In my case it was a hat. Take the thing with you whenever you think you're going to need some extra confidence. I take my 'Cap of Confidence' with me everytime I feel insecure. I took it to the Geography Olympiad, to my first day of college, to the movie theater when I went to Catching Fire. For me, it works. Everything went according to plan all those times I took my hat with me. It just might work for you too!

Now I'm no expert on this stuff, but I hope this might be helpful for someone out there. If you want to read more about this topic, head over to Smiles No Matter for a truly great post about self confidence and self esteem!