Confidence: Day ??

Several years ago, Newsweek had an article about teen girls. They put them in the categories Alpha, Beta, and Gamma. I liked the article, but thought they needed at least one more category. I'm calling it Delta. I tried to find the article online and couldn't, so you'll just have to trust my overview.

Alpha girls are the popular ones. They always have perfect hair and clothes, just the right accessories, and wonder why others don't. I believe that most of these girls have the natural talent of fashion knowledge. They are often the girls who look adorable in an old sweat suit, and can make an outfit of a t-shirt and jeans, and their hair looks great in a ponytail. In high school (which is the demographic the article was dealing with), these girls are often snotty and very, very clique-y.

Beta girls want to be Alpha girls. They try harder to be fashion conscious (often because they don't have that natural talent), and tend to be more competitive. Beta girls don't have the confidence that Alpha girls do, often because they are not in the most elite cliques. When Alpha girls leave the house, they know they look great. When Beta girls leave the house, they wonder if the Alpha girls will approve.

Gamma girls couldn't care less about fashion. They are often athletic (although not always), and are more concerned about being comfortable than looking great. They are confident in the choices they're making, even if it doesn't make them popular. (An interesting side note: the article spent quite a bit of time on the fact that most Gamma girls are very involved in their churches.) Gamma girls are more interested in their education and having friends, than in primping in the bathroom and having the RIGHT friends.

I'd like to add the Delta girl. This is the category I fit in when I was in high school. Basically, Delta is to Gamma as Beta is to Alpha. Meaning: Beta girls lack the confidence of Alpha girls, but they really want to be the same. Delta girls lack confidence, but they want to be able to not care about what people think, the way Gamma girls can.

I'd also like to move this into adulthood a little bit. Alpha girls grown up are still the ones who look cute in anything. Their financial priorities are clothes, accessories, and gym memberships to keep looking great. Although some outgrow that snottiness, many do not. They may not have the elitist element that high school girls often do; if there a deal at Marshalls, they may be all over it. They may not care where their clothes are from, as long as they look great. But they maybe still don't quite understand that others don't really care.

Beta girls grown up have often gained some confidence. However, they tend to be defensive about it. Rather than being entirely comfortable with themselves, they enter a room with an attitude that says, I am HERE. And if you don't like it, I've got somethin' to say to you!

Gamma girls as women are often still athletic. They have gym memberships for the love of it, not for the obsession with weight. But then, Gamma girls are also the ones who can make plus-sizes sexy. They buy clothes for the purpose of covering, with an eye for what doesn't look terrible, but they don't take the time to think harder than that.

Delta girls, like me, still wish to be something else. I sometimes wonder what's wrong with me that I've never had a manicure or pedicure or a massage or facial. I wish I could look cute in clothes; I wish I could buy clothes that are cuter than mine. I wish I could lose weight, and I think that might help.

So, although I hope that all of these of women are interested in improving themselves, I think Gammas and Deltas are more self-aware of things that need to change. But I think Deltas sometimes get caught up in some superficial improvements that Gammas wouldn't bother with. I want to be a Gamma. I want to raise my daughter to be a Gamma. Now, if only I could figure out how