I remember that one evening when she sat on our old, broken couch, the one that groaned and choked under our weight and had almost gasped every time we moved. It was almost at the end of its miserable life—just like she felt at that moment.
Like always, she wasn’t sobbing loudly. She cried in silence, in the kind of quiet pain that doesn’t ask for attention but begs for relief. Her red, teary eyes stared at the ceiling, as if searching for an answer that wouldn’t come. She had always been strong even in the face of too many rejections and failures, too many times of saying “I’ll be fine” when she wasn’t.
It had been four months since she lost her job, and every failed interview chipped away at some of her confidence. It wasn’t just about money anymore; it was about self-worth. She was beginning to believe that she wasn’t good enough.
I was watching all this from the doorway, unsure if I should step in or let her grieve this moment alone. But I refused to let her sit in that darkness without a reminder of who she was—who she still could be. I slowly walked towards her and invited myself to that broken couch...
"You know," i started with a very soft voice, "I read somewhere that confidence isn’t about never falling or standing up after it. It’s about believing you can stand up again, no matter how many times you fall.". She didn't respond, but I saw her fingers trying to find mine...
I continued... "Do you remember the time you failed your college exam? You thought it was end of the world. But you got back up and you got yourself a decent education."
"that was different," she whispered.
"was it?" I asked gently. "You always find a way. It might take time, but you will get back up. And until you do, I’ll be here. I believe in you, even if you don’t right now."
She didn’t say anything, but I saw her shoulders relax, just a little. Maybe she still felt lost, maybe the weight of her situation hadn’t lifted, but I knew one thing for sure, she hadn’t lost hope.
And as long as hope remained, confidence will always find its way back.