Hello everyone, Jordan here. Today's blog will be a little different from our usual fare. We'll discuss how being assertive in your actions and decisions can help you grow as a person, both socially and professionally. This will be based on personal experiences, and hopefully, you will benefit from it.

I am an international student in the United States, and while sometimes it may appear that I have gotten the hang of things, it has not always been the case. I am originally from Cameroon, a lovely and warm little country off Africa's beautiful west coast. I was seventeen when I graduated high school and moved to the United States with the help of my parents to pursue a college education and broaden my horizons for a better future. My parents eventually had to leave after dropping me off, and I was left here with my sister, who is only a few years older than me. My parents trusted her to show me the way because they assumed she had more experience, having arrived a few years before me. Despite her holding my hand and assisting me to the best of her ability, I quickly realized that I needed to mature in order to fully get the hang of things.

When it came time to enroll in college and register for classes, life hit me like a ton of bricks. The school asked me for some documents which I provided and they told me to basically wait for a response. Time passed, and every time I inquired about the status of the procedure, I was met with excuses. I eventually realized that I wasn't taken seriously enough because I was young, shy, and spoke in a gullible manner. It was then that I decided I had enough and that I would change that about myself. I went back to the office, and this time I was much more confident and assertive. I told them it was unacceptable that something that should have taken a few weeks had taken months. They finally admitted to me that they couldn't find my documents anymore. They had misplaced the documents I had sent them and were attempting to prolong the process until they could locate them. I was obviously choked and upset, but I was even more proud of myself because not only did I demonstrate enough confidence and assertiveness to be taken seriously - as an adult would-, but I did so in a non-condescending and respectful manner.

I started college six months late due to their negligence and my lack of confidence to speak up. However, the experience helped me grow into a more confident and assertive person. I learned that day that confidence has a significant impact on how people perceive and treat you during interactions, and having it in your arsenal will give you the gravitas you need in crucial circumstances. I read somewhere that " confidence helps us feel ready for life's experiences. When we're confident, we're more likely to move forward with people and opportunities — not back away from them. And if things don't work out at first, confidence helps us try again'', and it couldn't have been more true.

Thank you for reading, and remember... BE CONFIDENT !!

Jordan