It is often said that 
will always leave a mark on a man, changing the way he sees and walks in the world to some extent. I believe in and strongly agree with this adage as I have proven it myself. I have been through a chain of experiences that had shaped me making who I am in the present time that different from I used to be. That chain of experiences has examined as well as forged my values, ideas, and personality; and, in a lot of cases, has made me revise them, making them more compatible with what I really want in my life. Specifically speaking, I have proven that this chain of experiences has a very strong impact on my confidence.
Perhaps one of the most notable moments that changed me in terms of self-confidence is my student exchange program in the US. It took place when I was sixteen; age that many of my families and relatives said to be too young for a boy to live in a foreign country with totally different culture. It was a concern about the stability of personality and value as well as maturity. Conversely, the Central Java AFS board confidently said that this program was all about self-improvement through experiencing life in such country. They assured my parents that I would be a better person after the program.
Prior to the program I was such a shy, reserved boy. Perhaps this was because of the way my friends treated me when I was younger since I was the youngest amongst us that eventually diminished my self-confidence. To date I can still remember how shy I was when I really wanted to ask a question to the teacher in the class; how I thought too much about what my classmates would think of me regarding my question, what was the appropriate manner to address the question, and how the teacher would react to my question. This lack of confidence was a very hard obstacle to my self-improvement.
Then, filled with socially-hidden determination to promote Indonesia to the international world, I went to the US through AFS. Throughout the program I was lucky to find wonderful host family, teachers, and friends. Positive attitudes and behaviours they demonstrated in their social life such as respect and appreciation were very inspirational and influential to my confidence. Besides, I found American society is more tolerable about what someone wants to be in his or her life with fewer obligations to embrace social norms than it is Indonesia. This idea really boosted my confidence as I needed not to worry too much about what others might think about what I would say and do. I felt like I could be whatever I wanted to be. Furthermore, many activities that required me to interact with a large number of people such as Youth Leadership class, which emphasized on character building, and giving a number of presentations about Indonesia before large audience have also forged my confidence.
After the program, I was back continuing my study in my old boarding school. There I began exercising my American confidence through active participation in the class and school organization. All worry I used to feel prior to the program in terms of demonstrating active participation in social-related activities I no longer felt. Frequent and intense interaction with friends gave me enormous amount of chance to exercise as well as to maintain my confidence. To my surprise, I became a totally different person in terms of confidence and a lot of my friends admired me for that. I was not a shy and reserved boy any more, but rather an active and critical member of all kind of social entities I affiliate to. I felt very delighted with this change.
Now, nearly three years and half since that turning experience, I still exercise and maintain this confidence and to some extent spread it to people around me. I have embraced it as one of the most important values in my life and I will always adhere to it as it is an instrumental key to fostering my self-improvement. I have proven that with this confident I could be accepted in many programs such as the Government’s prestigious Indonesia-Canada Youth Exchange Program and AIESEC new member selection. This turn of confidence through American experience was a real proof to the adage stated above and that American experience has left a mark on me, changing the way I see and walk in the world, is undoubtedly true.
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