Shot of confidence...

17 November 2022: Spent some time today meeting with a student who--like so many students (especially young women!) I work with--just doesn't believe in her abilities. I said to her--and have said to many others like her)--"I wish I could give you an injection of confidence! Get you to see what I see..." 

I see a younger version of myself in her and young women like her. I told her the story about a graduate class I took in my second semester of M.A. work and how out of my element I felt. That class drove me to tears. And even talking about it today, I found myself getting emotional again, the memory was so powerful. 

Of course, there isn't a magical shot to get these women to believe in themselves, but I am hoping that among the voices in their heads telling them they can't do it, they can hear mine, saying they can. 

(Yikes, this is a cheesy post, esp. the end, but I am tired and sentimental this evening.)