Confidence. Something you need to be successful, to accomplish your goals. Not being afraid to say what you think or do what you think is right. But not in a way that would put other people down or hurt them. These were some of the thoughts my GirlsClub had on confidence.

I introduced the concept of "slam poetry" and the award-winning poet Gayle Danley. We listened to a recording of one of her poems where she describes winning the National Poetry Slam Championship. The poem's narrator describes a few experiences of people putting her down, but she doesn't listen to them. She believes in her talent, so she borrows a car and goes to a poetry competition in another city. Even though it is an unfamiliar situation, she is confident and leaps in and does her best.

Then we read Phenomenal Woman by Maya Angelou. The girls pointed out the speaker's confidence in herself as she is - that she didn't need to change herself to please anyone else, that we can all have confidence in ourselves just as we are.

We discussed things we feel confident about in ourselves and things we would like to see in our future. The girls then made Confidence Boards to represent these personal strengths and hopes. One girl selected and image of people in what appears to be a hanging tent made of strong see-through netting. She said, "This represents me and my bird's eye view of the world." There was also an image of a bird and another of a handprint pattern. "And this represents me not being afraid to go out and make my mark on the world." May we all share our talents and make beautiful marks on our world!

Submitted by our Girls LitClubs Facilitator in Maryland, Virginia