Student Blog: Confidence Is Boundless

2026. Time truly does fly! In preparation for 2026, I did all of the things I typically do to prepare for the new year - pinterest boards were made, intentions set, and dreams reiterated. I also did a lot of reflecting before January 1st which was exciting, although sometimes slightly saddening as well. It’s so easy to fall into a slump of thinking you didn’t change as much as you wanted to when reflecting back, and I certainly fell into this slump. I think there is a big pressure to keep evolving, smash goals, and become different every year, but I don’t think that has to be the case. A new year is simply the passing of time measured by a number. You don’t need to change your whole life in 1 year and it’s also okay if you feel you’ve stepped backwards a bit (or a lot). I know in some ways I had in 2025. 

This year was exhilarating for me, but that’s not all it was. I attended the International Thespian Festival as a mainstage performer, I went to Poland and sang with an orchestra there, won awards for performances, etc. Although, I also feel like I have stepped backwards in ways, too - I haven’t been singing as much, I am less confident in my voice than before, and am less confident in myself in general as well. I think it would surprise people how much less confident I had become in 2025 despite having many wins this year. 2025 was filled with the most accomplishments I have ever had in a single year and bigger accomplishments than ever before, but it was also filled with lows I wish to forget. Both can be true simultaneously - and oftentimes, they are. I use this as a reminder when comparing myself to others. 

I would say that I am the queen of comparison. I even compare my current self to my past self (even though I had been dreaming of the opportunities I have now for as long as I can remember). It’s really quite funny to think about me at 18-years-old comparing herself to her 15-year-old self - like, what? I am an adult now, of course things are going to be different. I am an entirely different person now! Additionally, of course my accomplishments are going to be different than another person’s - we are entirely different people! And that is okay - it has to be okay because it’s just true. A fact of nature. 

My intention for this year is to find more confidence in myself and my abilities. I desire to be so confident in myself that every other person is less confident in me than I am of myself. That may sound like I am trying to become self-absorbed, but the truth of the matter is that currently I don’t have nearly as much confidence in myself as other people have in me. I desire for this year to be different. I walk into a room and people feel my confidence, not because I think I’m the best one there, but because I know I am the best version of myself at that moment in time, and that’s all I can be. 

I adore intentions because they are immeasurable. At the end of the year I can look back and count anything I see fits as my intention (unlike goals where you either accomplished them or you didn’t). I may not always become better each year and I may not accomplish more than I did last year, but I will always have an intention that was set and focused on throughout the year. That being said, goals are not bad in any way. I have plenty of goals that I wish to accomplish this year, but what I really am going to focus on is my intention, which this year, is Confidence (suprise!). I like to keep my intention to one word - allowing myself to think of it daily and whenever the word is mentioned. It also allows the most room for counting anything I wish to as my intention. Intentions are for the small-wins and the big-wins alike. Goals are for the specifics. 

However, confidence is funny to me, the moment I became confident in my abilities previously - doors flew open for me in ways I had never imagined, although it’s also often fleeting. Confidence can be the strongest it's ever been one day, and gone completely the next. Why is this? I am not an expert, but I can almost guarantee that it is due to comparison. They say “comparison is the thief of joy”, and I think a lot of that is because it’s also the thief of confidence. 

As performers, we need to make bold choices, create things that are experimental and potentially controversial, and lead with our hearts more often than not, which takes the utmost confidence. I think one thing I noticed as well while writing this article is that I have more confidence than I thought. I do make bold choices, create characters that are experimental, are in shows that are controversial and create characters that are too, and lead with my heart far more than my head. Confidence may be fleeting, but it’s also boundless - set only by what you make it. It’s confusing and difficult, but also found in the most obscure places and odd ways. You may think you have none, or you may think you have tons of confidence, but there is always more to be found. 

I hope your 2026 is filled with confidence, joy, your intention, and goals. You deserve it!