.kick in the booster.

do you ever have days where you feel like your life is a soundtrack? not that i can sing any better than a cat howling in heat, but i love to do it anyway. one of the buzz words in my life as of late for quite a few people around me has been confidence. it's astounding how many amazing women i know who don't see themselves as such. as i was thinking over this on my drive to work this morning, my soundtrack for today started playing...

i have confidence in sunshine
i have confidence in rain
i have confidence that spring will come again
besides which you see i have confidence in me

strength doesn't lie in numbers
strength doesn't lie in wealth
strength lies in nights of peaceful slumbers
when you wake up- wake up!

it tells me all i trust i lead my heart to
all i trust becomes my own
i have confidence in confidence alone
besides which you see i have confidence in me!

you caught me, i adore julie andrews. but take dearest maria in the sound of music for instance. she wasn't nearly as ravishing as the baroness, but she still won the captain's heart. what she had was wit, a sense of humor, ingenuity, kindness and you guessed it- confidence.

the most formidable barrier most of my friends, from single to in a relationship to married, have trouble getting over is the gumption to believe in themselves. my hpff has a tongue-in-cheek expression she likes to throw at me whenever she gets the chance, "melinda gets what melinda wants." now, before you go drawing conclusions about melinda..er..me, i was not raised with monetary spoils nor do i have them now as a teacher. i never was the type of girl that could walk into the room and have jaws drop, nor do i now (even with all my new anti-wrinkle creams).

what i have fostered and molded over the years, though, is my confidence. back in my single days, i knew when i walked into a room full of people on the prowl that i wasn't the prettiest girl in the room by any means. however, i had a certain je ne sais quoi. wait, i do know what i had, i had the nerve to believe in what i did have to offer. my inner dialogue went a little something like this, 'i walk really well in the highest of heels, i'm most definitely able to solve an algebra problem the quickest of anyone in here, i make a mean grilled cheese sandwich, i'm well-read, my friends think i'm punny and gosh darn it, i like me.'

why in the world would some single guy choose a girl who could quickly solve algebra problems over a girl who looks like she belongs on the covers of magazines? he wouldn't, but, he just might choose a girl that has that certain il ne sait pas ce qui (he doesn't know what). it was my confidence in myself, even the silly things, that was attractive.

what i wish for the ladies in my life who have a difficult time seeing their own reasons for loving themselves is the clarity of maria. when she awakened her self-assurance, she nearly floated on a cloud of twirling and song. when you write your own inner-lyrics, make sure that you leave out the maybes, possiblys, kindas and such to only bellow what you most definitely know you've got going for yourself.

whether you're single or married or even a dude, it is never too late to give yourself a swift kick in the booster. let the world know how awesome you are by simply letting yourself know.