Self Esteem Definition

My self-esteem is a fleeting emotion, one that I have pursued nearly all my life. I have had trouble with self-esteem for as long as I can remember, even as a young child. It likely stems from a number of different experiences and circumstances, such as growing up in the Catholic church as a product of divorced parents. Our family was ostracized by other families and because we also went to the Catholic school associated with the church, that disapproving treatment was an almost daily occurrence. We were excluded from church and school functions and never got invited to classmates’ birthday parties or sleepovers. Another cause of my trouble with self-esteem is because we were relatively poor. Even though we did not live in a nice neighborhood, …show more content…
From simple, daily to-do lists to long-term personal and professional goals, I have found that working towards them and accomplishing them gives me a sense of purpose and achievement. Attending college was originally just a personal goal. I had planned to get my Associates degree and stop there. I had a good job at the time and did not think I needed the degree for my career. However, I realized that there may be a possibility in the future that I may want or need to change careers. Just completing my Associated degree was such a boost to my self-esteem that I decided to continue on to get my Bachelor’s degree in Accounting. Upon making the decision to continue my education, I also decided to make some other changes in my life too. At that point, I was divorced, my daughter was almost done college and it was now time to focus and pursue what I wanted in life and out of life instead of continuing down the path of what I was expected to do. I made a career shift to accounting from finance and investments and decided to move from New Castle County, Delaware down to the lower Eastern Shore of Maryland, which is where my Dad’s family is from. The lifestyle is different and the area is not as congested, which is something I