We have a guest post from Clare today. She works in news and she graciously took this verse today which is sparing you from having to read my sub-par musings.

??She dresses herself with strength and makes her arms strong.?? – Proverbs 31:17 (ESV)

If I were to ever get a tattoo, it would be of this Bible verse.

Since I first read it (and understood it), it??s kind of stuck with me. Maybe it??s because it draws me to memories of my time playing softball in high school. As a catcher, I had all that lovely gear – face mask, chest protector, shin guards – that were my protection and extra muscle. Thanks to all the hitting and throwing I was Fierce. I was Strong. I was Intense.

It also carried with it the perfectionism knocked into me from my ballet years.

It??s those things that I have carried with me even to today.

I suppose you could say that the fierceness, strength, intensity, and perfectionism fermented inside me to become something more teens and young women need today.

They need confidence in themselves.

I know I am good at what I do. I??m a writer, manager, artistic eye, and editor rolled into one.

Working in TV news, these things are all very important for anyone. However, I chose not to go the reporting route. I went the producing route. I put together the show – what order the stories go in, how long each reporter has, what gets cut if need be.

Being meek and silent didn??t get me where I am today.

I only graduated from university back in August. I started at my station in mid-September. Four months and a day after my first day, I was signing a contract that named me Executive Producer and meant I??m staying where I am until the end of 2014.

If I hadn??t worked hard and had confidence in myself and my abilities, I would not have gotten this. (Plus I??m just an all awesome person… Not really but I like to pretend.)

That self confidence at work spills over into my love life. (Men are hopeless and I had to just flat out ask my then best friend why he was being awkward and if he ??liked?? me and all that jazz.) That self confidence at work spills over into my spiritual life. (I know I can do better. It just takes time and thought and lots of prayer.)

And it is that self confidence that lets me know that eventually I??ll figure out what exactly God wants from me. Even though it would be easier if he just hit me over the head with it!

Clare blogs at Confessions of an Underground Catholic. Her favorite topics to blog about are discernment and the saints. She is a recent college grad who decided to move someplace warm and monsoon-y after graduation. She is thankful she hasn??t seen snow this year, has an awesome job, a friend who tries to keep her in check, and an awesome boyfriend. She is looking forward to riding out her first hurricane and going to a hurricane party since she missed Hurricane Isaac by a week last year.