How to Boost Your Self-Esteem in College with Peer Support

This post is sponsored by Motee. All opinions are 100% my own.

My first semester of college was an absolute doozy. Not only was I a thousand miles from home, but I was also struggling in school, which wasn’t like me at all.

As I dragged myself through freshman year, I could feel my self-esteem starting to dwindle. Was I really cut out for this college thing? Could I bring my GPA up and find some good friends who would help motivate me?

I’m sure most college students have had these thoughts at one time or another, and that’s why I wanted to address the issue of self-esteem. While I can’t take away all your challenges, I’d love to talk to you about how collaboration and peer support can lift you up during those tough times.

Peer Support in College: What is It and How to Get It

Peer support looks different for everyone, but can be boiled down to the simple concept of giving and receiving social and emotional support to someone in a similar position to you.

In college, this is typically easy to find as most students are experiencing the same major life change as you, and thus may be experiencing similar difficulties and challenges.

While there are tons of ways to get involved on campus, as well as places to receive help, there can be barriers to receiving the support you need.

For example, if you are shy or don’t want the stigma of asking for help, you may feel overwhelmed by the college experience, and this could lead to less peer support (which often translates into lower self-esteem).

So what happens when you find yourself struggling to find peer support and collaboration?

Thankfully, there’s a new type of social network built just for you: Motee.

What is Motee?

Motee is your one-stop shop for connecting, praising, and helping your college peers. Whether you are looking for a tutor to help you with your math homework, or just need some positive words of encouragement, you can get it with Motee.

You may be asking, why should I join another site when I’m already on too many social networks to begin with?

Let me explain some of the benefits:

• You can instantly connect with students in your major (who are going through the same, or similar, classes as you)
• You can send and receive positive notes of encouragement (called motees) to your classmates, which help boost your self-esteem
• You can request tutoring without having to worry about walking into a tutoring office

Are you starting to notice a pattern?

It’s all centered around making collaboration as easy and accessible as possible, so that you can be at your best.

Why a Collaborative Approach is Best

Everyone has a different learning approach, but life is best done when it’s with other people.

In college, this couldn’t be more true.

You’ll be challenged emotionally, academically, socially, and mentally. It takes A LOT of effort to stay on track and not feel defeated when a test or assignment doesn’t go exactly how you want it to (I talk more about this over at What Getting My First F on a College Test Taught Me).

To be honest, I may have overcome a lot of my own personal college challenges more quickly had I taken a more collaborative approach to my education.

As humans, I feel like we struggle to admit where our weaknesses are. The truth is that we are never as good by ourselves as we are when we collaborate with others.

A great example of this is when you have a brainstorming session.

If you’re like me, some of your best ideas probably come when multiple people are involved in this session. This is because everyone has something to bring to the table that is unique and different, and not what you would imagine yourself.

Collaboration forces us to be challenged, but also allows us to showcase our skills to those who may not have the same ones we do.

That’s what makes it so beautiful.

Personally, I’m super hard on myself when it comes to grades – missing even just a few points on an assignment would make me feel terrible about myself.

These are the moments when having a site like Motee would’ve been helpful for me. I may have reached out to my classmates more to get help in subjects I was struggling with, and I probably would’ve had a higher self-esteem by giving and receiving positive notes of encouragement to my peers.

Better Together: Steps You Can Start Taking Today

Now that you’ve heard some of my own experiences, let’s talk a bit more about how you can start adding more peer support to your college life, and boosting your self-esteem in the process:

1. Sign up for Motee and begin making an effort to connect with students at your school (by the way, you can make money by referring your friends! Check out the details here)
2. Join a club or organization that interests you, and make it a point to go to all the meetings
3. Introduce yourself to a peer in each class and suggest being study partners
4. Give a compliment to at least one peer each week (bonus points for doing more!)
5. Share your knowledge with someone who is struggling with a subject you are good at (and consider signing up to be a Motee tutor – it pays!)
6. Write down three things that you did well each day
7. Practice creating affirmations for yourself and others
8. Join a study group (or take the lead on creating one)

If there’s one thing I hope you’ll take away from this post, it’s to never fully rely on yourself. I know it can be scary to reach out to others for support, but when you find the right people to collaborate with, you’ll be surprised at how much better you feel.

Personally, I noticed my self-esteem increase significantly when I knew there were people in my corner cheering me on and helping me in areas where I was struggling. I hope you can find at least five supports who you can go to whenever you need a pick-me-up!