I'd like to announce a little project I'm doing. I will document my usage of various GLI tools within my everyday life. These tools include the famous 4-steps, I statements, and speaking and carrying myself with an overall sense of confidence.

I'm going to start off with something simple: body language. People tend to dismiss it as unimportant, but I find it really challenging. Even though I've been schooled countless times by everyone at GLI to "stand on TWO feet" and not to "pretzel up," I seem to do it unconsciously. I start a conversation standing up straight, hands unoccupied, and head held high. But, not three minutes into it, I realize I'm leaning on one hip, my head is tilted, and I won't even get into what sort of odd contortionistic poses my arms can get into.

I have a feeling that this tendency is common among people everywhere, especially teenage girls. I think it has to do with girls' universal concern that we must take up as little space as possible. I also think that the double standard in society about body image comes into play (why is it that guys can pride themselves upon the meat on their bones, while girls are pressured to be skinny?!).

I have recently been experimenting with walking confidently around New York City. I must admit that it's fun! I strut down the street. I look ahead, up, and around me - everywhere but the sidewalk at  my feet. I sometimes find that I'm smiling to myself because, honestly, it's hard not to be a little happy while you're walking like that. Don't get me wrong, it's not easy. I have to write things like "stand straight" or "chin up" on the back of my hand because, like I said earlier, sometimes it's hard to maintain an air of confidence. 

A nice place to experiment with confident body language is school, where hair twisting and hip jutting are everywhere you look. People want to make a good impression at school - especially on the first day - and they get nervous. In my case, I'll be starting the first day at a new school. After a rough and stressful year of infinite tests and interviews to get into a good high school, I finally got accepted to the one of my choice and now get to enjoy the excitement of the first day. You see, I've already been to numerous orientations. I sat tall. I spoke up. I'm sure I made a memorable impression. Unlike many of my fellow freshmen, I find that my excitement for the first day is totally outweighing my nervousness.

I have discovered that, if you carry yourself with confidence, people will think you are confident, and that alone is enough of a confidence boost to encourage confident body language (anyone notice a pattern?). So get your arms out of those ridiculous contortions and remember that your hair doesn't need to be twisted 24/7, and if you look up, things will be brighter.