'breakin' it down articulately' -body language (jesse mccartney)

over the past few weeks i've been making a conscious effort to become bolder, but i think it may have partially backfired.

firstly, i got a job as a waitress at hooters (since i know that only my good friends read this - i have no problem posting this... let's not spread the word too broadly ladies haha). i've been taught how to wear eye-liner, memorized the over 70 types of alcohol we sell, perfected hula-hooping, and learned to be a more assertive, confident individual - all while smiling, wearing little orange shorts and getting folks to buy beer. i know that there are people out there who think it's an awful establishment that exploits women, but i truly believe it's helping me to become more like the person i want to be. you CANNOT lack confidence when you are wearing tube socks with pantyhose and trying to learn the bar stool trick in front of a section full of guests. this is the part of my plan that has seemed to work in my favor.

however, my second attempt did not go quite so well. i may or may not have told a boy that i liked him. i also may or may not have scared him. i don't think he understood that 'i like you' is NOT equal to 'i want to date you,' but instead 'i enjoy hanging out with you, and would like to see you occasionally.' if being bold results in people misunderstanding me and high-tailing it out of my life, my plan to live a life more courageous obviously needs a little revision.

lesson learned: when being bold - be clear. say what you actually mean, and say all of it.

next step in the becoming a bolder more confident me = learning how to dance. this will hopefully be implemented this weekend ;]

'you've finally made your move, now i'm here to make mine' -the love i wanna be in (jason aldean)

while i'm on this whole 'being bolder slash more confident' kick... i've decided that it almost needs a list of its own. i've devized a 5-step plan to becoming a more confident individual, here it is:

1. stop apologizing: i've realized that i say 'sorry' entirely too much. there isn't anything wrong with apologizing, but i say it too often for things that don't really warrant an apology. if it isn't my fault, i'm not going to apologize.

2. make eye contact: when i walk to class, instead of staring at the ground like i normally do, i'm going to look ahead and meet people's gazes. and smile. this terrifies me - but it's going to work wonders for my self-esteem (hopefully).

3. give my two cents worth: i hardly ever raise my hand in class, but this semester that's going to change. while this does entail me having to actually complete all of my reading in a more timely manner, it will also involve me having to think quickly and not being afraid of sounding silly in front of my classmates. additionally, i'm going to give my opinion more often when working in a group setting. this scares me, but it needs to happen.

4. learn how to wink: yeah - it can be creepy, but it has the potential to be super awesome too ;)

5. flirt shamelessly: i'm excited about implementing this one at work, but i need to figure out how to carry this over into real life as well.

and there it is folks. my foolproof plan to becoming more confident. adding this with my current job and my friends to back me up - this is going to happen.

ps - i worked on the whole 'walking in heels' thing the other day - and i've decided that it's definitely a mindset. think the strut, be the strut, walk the strut.