Building Confidence In Myself When I Was Feeling Down

By Alice (she/her), who is here to remind you to never let the bullies break you down — just persevere, keep trying, and learn from your mistakes.

I never imagined that I’d ever make it to university. I was bullied in school, which made my grades drop. My self-confidence was low, and I was fed up with being called the teacher’s pet. 

I went on NCS, and was camping in the New Forest when I found out that I’d failed my first year of A levels. In that moment, I thought I was done with education. I was completely at a loss. But the team leaders and all the other people helped me keep going. 

Building my self-esteem

During my time on NCS, I learned new skills like raft building and climbing, and I broke the record for being brave enough to go on the highest tower at the high ropes. Through doing all these things, my leadership and communication skills and confidence just grew and grew. 

NCS taught me to have confidence in myself and to keep pushing forward. I learned that I’m a great leader and that I have a way of communicating with people which means I can help them and learn new things about myself at the same time.

I also did a two-week NCS social action project in my home town of Weston Super Mare. My team and I did a raffle to raise funds to do a makeover on some social housing. When it came to graduation, I won the award for ‘Natural Leader’. This changed everything. I finally had a reason to keep going with education. I realised I was born to lead. I just needed to find that within me, and NCS helped me do that. 

Feeling confident enough for university

I went on to do a BTEC Extended Diploma in business and got great grades. I then applied to four universities and got into three. I was over the moon! Then the University of Plymouth told me that I would be able to get a grant because I come from an underprivileged area and got good grades in school and college. I never thought I would make it to university due to my grades and how I felt when I failed my first year of A levels. I was so excited to be going away from home to university, to learn new things, meet new friends, and gain new experiences. It’s just like a longer version of NCS!

How to gain confidence

It doesn’t matter where you’re from, or how much money you have. I was born into a family that was struggling financially, and I’ve lived in council housing or housing association property from the day I was born until I went off to university. We can all make a difference and grow as people. If I was to give my younger self some advice, it would be to not let bullies break you down. It’s hard, but you need to keep going — don’t let them win and take over your life. I would also say to just persevere no matter what! It’s so important to keep trying and learning from your mistakes and failed attempts.

Want to do NCS? Grab your place here.