Every year, October 20th is National Youth Confidence Day. This year it landed on a Thursday. 

National Today’s website describes National Youth Confidence Day, also known as National Youth Appreciation Day, as a day to celebrate the potential of young people, their achievements, and spirit.

“I think it’s a great day to have. I think it’s a great way to celebrate kids and allow them to grow into who they are and become more comfortable with themselves,” says Arrowhead senior, Mady Scholzen. 

To Francesca Smith, a senior at Arrowhead, “Confidence means self love. It means believing in yourself and being able to comfortably live with yourself.”

Scholzen says confidence is “Someone who’s comfortable in their own skin.”

According to National Today’s website, over 70% of girls ages 15-17 avoid normal daily activities, such as attending school, when they feel bad about their looks. 

However, Trinity Dahl, another senior at Arrowhead, says, “Confidence is more than just looks to me.  I think that people expect you to look put together and to look a certain way, but confidence is what you know about yourself and what you believe it is for yourself.”

National Today’s website also said that a surprising fact about girls’ self esteem was that they didn’t feel they were good enough. They said seven out of ten girls believe that they aren’t good enough or don’t measure up in some way, including their looks, grades, and relationships with family and friends. 

“I think that my self morals and my outlook on life affects my confidence.  I think that when I am in a more positive and outgoing mood, I tend to be more confident and have a better outlook on life,” says Dahl.

National Today claims they love to celebrate this day because it’s a chance to celebrate and learn about promising young people, teach people, and it’s a good day to remember historical youths as well. 

Some students believe the day should have more awareness. 

Reagan Russ, another senior at Arrowhead, said, “I think we should make a bigger deal of it. I had no idea that the day was four days ago. Nobody in school told me I had a bright future.”

Girls aren’t the only ones who struggle with accepting and being comfortable with their appearance, according to National Today’s website. More than 40% of boys in middle and high school regularly exercise to increase muscle mass, 38% reported using protein supplements, and nearly 6% admitted to experimenting with steroids. 

Ian Callies, another senior at Arrowhead, said, “I used to be bullied on how I looked compared to other guys and I used to wear a lot of baggy clothes to cover myself. Now it’s changed a lot, because I’ve been given more confidence by people around me.”

National Today also said that among high school students, 44% of girls and 15% of boys are trying to lose weight due to their low self esteem, societal outlook, and social significance. 

Now, Callies admits he feels more confident in himself and his looks. He says, “If someone says I look good, I walk around more confident in myself and my look. But if someone says I don’t look good, I still walk around confidently, because I no longer care what others think of me.”