I satisfy my needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness academically in different ways. I have never been very confident academically, but I am making improvements every year. Coming out of high school, I did not think of myself as a strong student. Growing up I had many teachers who would verbally humiliate me in the classroom and would not take the time to help me understand the material. I already felt like an outcast at school, and this made it even harder to get excited about learning. Coming into college, I quickly learned that college was a lot harder than high school. I had to learn how to find time to study and find self-motivation. There was a lot of changes I had to make but they have helped me become a better student. Firstly, I had to surround myself with positive and academically driven people. My new friends motivate me even when I do not have the energy to motivate myself. Sometimes I get so overwhelmed about school I just ignore my work and try not to think about it. In turn, I have more work to do and more stress to worry about. When I talk to my friends, they start conversations about the work they have to do and then get me to talk about mine. Sometimes we even get together to study when we are all feeling down or unmotivated in school. Another thing that helps me academically is taking a break from it all. I get overwhelmed a lot in school and my friends and I must remind each other to take a break sometimes. We go to the beach, or out for brunch, or even just get together and watch movies. It helps to gain perspective and get your head out of the books for a little while. Personally, I had to took within myself and picture me succeeding academically. I had to see it as possible before I could start working towards achieving it. Once I started believing in myself, my will power strengthened, and I began doing things I never thought possible. Once I started passing college classes and receiving praise in class and on assignment, my confidence went up by a lot. I still have trouble keeping my head up and staying focused in school but if I resort back to my support systems and self-motivation then I can usually push through. I am so excited for the day where I can finally say I did it. Once I reach my goal of graduation college, a whole new confidence level will be unlocked and then I will be untouchable.