Free Custom «College Entry» Essay Paper

Evaluate a significant experience, achievement, risk you have taken, or ethical dilemma you have faced and its impact on you.

I can make it. This was the assurance I gave to myself, when I made a decision to vie for vice chairperson position of campus student organization body. One of my greatest weaknesses was low self-esteem and lack of confidence. Every time I was given a leadership position in

the past, I could think of how incompetent I am and recommended someone else who I thought was more qualified than me. Truly I have never been a leader before and here I am extremely confident that I qualify for the seat.

In time, I learned that there is a reasonable way differentiating apprehension and humbleness concerning abilities of a person.I was in dilemma, I thought other students will do it better. I could do it but I realized my attitude was dragging me back. Therefore, I had to trust in myself, so as to convince my friends to believe in me.

To make the situation different, I knew I had to change the preconceived thought that I am not a leader. I realized I could only prove my worth by developing an attitude that I can be an ideal leader, like any of the student leaders I admired. Therefore, after distrusting and

looking down upon myself for over twenty years, I chose to break out my shell and take risks. Actually, the confidence I had when Ipresented my first manifesto was highly significant in inculcating trust in my friends and productively enabling me to play the leadership role in the student organization body.

Though self-confidence and trust was a crucial step I made, it only characterized the beginning of my leadership role. I discovered that there are other various morals and experiences I had to learn throughout the term. I was a follower all my life and thus I was experienced in following orders but not assigning. I enthusiastically assumed the responsibility but hardly requested for assistance when challenged. I felt that if I had taken up the responsibility, I

should navigate my way out and not bother others. That did not yield much success for me, instead, it led to decline in my studies and I consequently found myself challenged in many situations. In fact, this was a lesson for me too. It made me realize the significance of

teamwork and what leadership entails. A leader does not allocate duties because he has the power, but because he understands the significance of members’ cooperation in the organization's success. He also understands when and how to look for help.

In several occasions, I feared to suggest changes in the organization constitution because I thought I would be challenging the power of the chairperson. I shared the feeling with one of my friend, who told me that, in leadership, teamwork and morality prevails over personal authority.

Similarly, one person cannot handle everything in an organization, and some flaws that are noticeable to some leaders may slip the attention of others. According to him, the committee members must work to complement each other. With his advice, I learned to take responsibility and to be discerning as an equal leader.

Based on my shortcomings as a beginner in leadership, I realized my failures as an ideal leader. My willingness to learn and improve myself to the standards of the student leaders I admired, kept my spirit up. My position as vice chairperson in the student organization nurtured my leadership talent. It helped me to change the perception I had about myself and to realize that there is hidden wisdom on leading to be utilized. Finally. courage drove me on my successive leadership attempts in campus.