May 29, 2020
The following essay is adapted from MPA Class of 2020 member Nasri Maktal’s Senior Speech.
Throughout my life, I have been told repeatedly that I need to work on my confidence. I had this deep feeling of not deserving to be in certain spaces or deserving of others’ time and patience. I believed I wasn’t as impressive or as smart as my classmates. I viewed myself as unworthy of a voice and being heard. It was almost as if I were born with deep-rooted insecurities that held me back from unlocking my full potential. It was this large weight attached to me that followed my every move. I continuously heard that I need to be more confident, but there wasn’t some magical switch that I could flip to make me proud of the person I am.
This feeling came to a head in Middle School. While I had long been cognizant of that fact that I am vastly different from many of my classmates, until then, I wasn’t aware of its true implications. For years, I had refused to acknowledge my differences. By doing so, I continued to ignore who I was, which, in turn, never allowed any form of self-love. Since I didn’t acknowledge my identities that played a large role in my life, how was I supposed to be OK with who I was? These differences were particularly prominent in my socio-economic background, my religion, and my skin color. Read More