Students have to understand their environment to develop a positive self-esteem, said Bud Edwards, a counselor at the Counseling Center.

“To survive, find a way to round edges, soften and smooth pieces, so you don’t lose your original view of yourself,” Edwards said during a presentation titled “Building Self-Esteem” Thursday night in the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union.

Edwards’ goal for the night was to help students understand how culture can influence people’s feelings about themselves. People’s self-esteem grows from their environment, family and personal sets of values, Edwards said.

“How we evaluate our self-esteems starts to fragment in these three pools,” Edwards said. “Absorbed values from family, along with community and internal values, make us who we are.”

The workshop began with the audience filling out a form that asked them to describe their backgrounds and the defining features of having that background. After filling out the sheets, Edwards asked the audience many questions. The audience members gave their opinions of the definitions of self-esteem and success.

Edwards then changed the focus to adapting to new cultures, specifically moving to Charleston from a large city. He asked students how the new environment can change newcomers.

During the adjustment period, being stared at and feeling different can hurt self-esteem, but Edwards said many can grow by forming new relationships with different people.

“Those defining characteristics (of your culture) begin to hammer at you and make feeling good about yourself hard,” Edwards said. “The things you once valued get undermined from the struggle with `Who am I?'”

Edwards said everyone has the same feelings to some degree. Edwards said knowing that others are experiencing the same difficulties can sometimes help.