Friends and kids

I don't have a lot of friends that have children yet and the friends I do have with children I hardly ever see. I got to spend time last week with two of my friends and their kids and it was very refreshing. I needed that morning with other moms. We didn't do anything terribly exciting, but that is what I needed. I needed to spend time with another mom doing normal daily things. It was so nice to watch the kids eat lunch, to see them playing, to see how it's ok to have toys all over the floor, how to handle it when the kids get a bit out of control, and most of all it was great to be with people I love and can learn from.

Confidence

My students are writing an essay right now about a dream that they have and how they plan to accomplish it. One thing I have noticed is that so many of them talk about lacking confidence in themselves to actually achieve their dream. I have started to think about what confidence is and why so many people, myself included, lack it. How can one balance having confidence in themselves without becoming too prideful or arrogant? Why is it that a lack of confidence comes across as shyness? Why is it that people who lack confidence are often characterized as "quiet" and sometimes even "bitchy"? What exactly is confidence and how does one gain it - or can it be gained?
These are just some of my thoughts.