BoardingPOV

Ask not what your country can do for you...

Michelle:

The day we had a meeting for the freshman class about the student council, was when I realized it was something that interested me. I wanted to be in a leadership position earlier this time in my high school life. In my middle school, I had run as a representative at the very end, 8^th grade! Luckily I had gotten in. It wasn’t a big position like President or Vice President, or even Secretary, but I liked sharing my ideas. There were to be a few representatives from my grade and every other grade, and of course, a President.

They told us the details, which required us to make a speech in front of my entire grade. I was FRIGHTENED. I had never been good at public speaking (well I didn’t think so.) I went to a class over the summer that taught me how to better my public speaking. For some reason, my teacher thought I was one of the best in his class. I was doing all the right things without knowing I was. I was a natural, but it didn’t mean that I liked to go up and speak in front of a bunch of people. I was scared. I wondered what they would think of me. Of course you had your friends that would vote for you, but what about convincing everyone else?

I thought long and hard about it. I was at the point of giving up. I had heard that SEVERAL people would be running, and I thought for sure I wouldn’t win. I then realized that the point wasn’t necessarily to win. It’s been a long time since I gained the courage to do something that isn’t me. I wanted to get out of my comfort zone for once and take a chance. So what if I didn’t win, it was the step that I’d taken that really mattered. In life there will be steps to make and I wanted to finally have the courage to go down the scary road.

It was then I read the quote below that inspired me: