During my short, sweet experience on this campus thus far, I have been immensely impressed with the number of students and faculty who are experts in the field of psychology. In fact, my short tenure at “That School Up North” (don’t tell anyone) and my weekend adventures in Hattiesburg have both revealed the same astonishing truth: college campuses are breeding grounds for uncertified psychologists.
I, however, am talking real-life, experienced professionals.
Finishing up my third year in college, I feel (as I assume most do) as though I am completely capable of diagnosing nearly any psychological problem in any one of my friends, family members or, hell, even classmates, with deadly accuracy.
I will admit that I did take a beginning psychology course my senior year in high school at a junior college, and I could only pull a C (senioritis, I swear), but since then, I have had enormous amounts of experience in the field. So, trust me, and allow me to enlighten.
Let’s address one of the most important aspects of having a stable, happy life: self-esteem. Low self-esteem is an epidemic. It has been linked to poor scholarly achievement, difficulty in making or keeping friends, low sperm count, cancer and the general inability to function as a productive member of society.
The key in the self-esteem movement is to love yourself, and realize that you are a winner — even if you are a loser.
The only good thing about this epidemic is there is a plethora of information available for those who seek to fight it (and even for those who don’t). Just go on Amazon and type in “self-esteem” you will be bombarded with options on how to fix this most crucial part of life.
Luckily, elementary schools are starting to get in front of the problem and have begun to implement self-esteem programs in many classrooms. This is a giant step in the war against low self-esteem, because the most depressed, self-analytical persons I know are 7- and 8-year-olds.
It is about time kids these days found out what life really has in store for them, and that is what these programs do. They teach kids that they are all entitled whatever they wish, so long as they believe in themselves. While many experts argue that too much self-esteem could lead to “d bag-ism,” there is no way to prove this scientifically. That is, of course, except for the fact that research shows kids with inflated senses of worth usually become aggressive when their superiority is called into question.
But that is beside the point. Kids don’t have high self-esteem because they have friends and good grades; kids get good grades and have friends because they have high self-esteem. Now THAT is pure science.
For example, I am sure you have seen the critically acclaimed classic, “The New Guy.” No? Just use any high school rom-com from the late ’90s, early ’00s as reference, then. Well, in these movies, the main character is a huge nerd (or artsy stereotype) at his high school.
He gets himself expelled and with the help of a prison inmate (or estranged outlier) gains some self-confidence and a new image. He takes this newfound self-esteem to a new high school across town in which he becomes the most popular kid in school, and everything turns out great (just in time for the school dance).
I am not sure, but I would guess that most of these movies are based documented events. They are just so true to life, you know?
Some would argue that the keys to success lie in proper communication, diligent work, opportunity and strategy.
All these aspects, though they require extra effort, will, in some cases, allow an individual to obtain the status and material wealth they desire.
But people are finally starting to realize it’s much easier to just go ahead and act like you already have obtained these things and that you deserve even more. People really respect an arrogant unaccomplished a-hole.
Your attitude must exude, “I don’t run things around here, but I darn sure should.” It helps you feel better about yourself, while at the same time decreasing the importance of every other human who dares intrude upon your world.
It’s all about number one, baby. Let’s keep it that way.
Micah Green is a junior majoring in communication. He can be contacted at [email protected].