Self-esteem issues are for kids

Children are vulnerable beings, so it's obvious many of them have issues with self-esteem. Many kids just want to belong. They want to fit in. As adults, many of us can understand that because we were once those kids. But when an adult, someone 30+ years of age, says they have low self-esteem. I just don't know that I want to hear about it. I've never lied about it. I had low self esteem as a young man. I had people tell me I wasn't good-looking, or that I wasn't good enough. I outgrew it. It took me some time to find myself, but I did. If you feel that you're not confident enough in yourself to handle life, then don't be. Find something that will help you realize that "you is smart, you is kind, you is important." But don't judge me or my friends for loving who we are, and being confident enough to know what we have achieved and where we are going. It's really a downer. This must sound like me whining, and yeah, maybe I am just a little. But I'm the kind of person who used to drink because I didn't think that anything mattered. I had a brother, who was a role model to me, that died when I was still in high school. I had a mother who sat around and watched life pass her by while her other kids tried to remind her that we were still there. I dated people who disrespected me, and sometimes made me feel ugly. Well guess what? That's all in the past. I'm a grown man now. I've learned to love and respect myself, and many of my decisions, for the most part (ok, so I know I don't always make the best decisions, but not everyone does, right?). Now I drink because I'm an adult and I'm allowed to do so whenever I want, and wherever I want. Having a drink with friends on the weekends doesn't make me someone with no direction in life and it certainly doesn't make me someone who has a problem. In any case, I've learned to smile at my brother's memory. I've learned to help my mom out wherever I could to make her get over her slump. I've learned that no one can love you more than you will ever love yourself. Although there's definitely plenty of room for my Boo, whom I've made #1 in my life the last several years. So in a nutshell, what I'm trying to say, is please try and find yourself as an adult. Just don't get too cocky as I've seen in many cases. It isn't flattering.