"Best" Situation

It’s very hard for me to think of, let alone depict, the moment in my life when I was at my “best.” However, several moments come to mind. Leadership is always that has come naturally to me. Going through my high school years, I was involved in numerous leadership activities, including officer positions in FFA, student government, and National Honor Society. I was also the FFA and senior class president. Being in charge of around 40 people can be a little intimidating, but one event in particular definitely tested my leadership skills and my patience!

Every year, our FFA chapter puts on an end-of-the-year banquet. The purpose of this is to welcome members and their family, hand out awards and scholarships, and introduce the community to our chapter and agriculture. As president, I was automatic chairperson of the committee of the spring 2010 banquet. The agenda for what needed to be done was large: food, programs, invitations, script, awards, and keynote speaker and entertainment.

Everything was done with the help of the rest of the officer team. While I believe this day showed the best of me, it also showed a not-so-good side of me. Stress was definitely in the air that day, and everyone felt it! Being a senior, the thought on my mind was the scholarships that were to be handed out that night. The amounts were unknown, but it was common knowledge that I was to receive the top scholarship. There was, however, a lot of dispute over what amount I deserved among the underclassmen. Needless to say, my stress caused me to say a few “choice words” to the specific underclassmen who were determined to undercut the scholarship amounts—none too gently.

As the time for the event to start finally approached, I had just about the biggest migraine anyone could have. I was two weeks from graduation, and the whole chapter was feeling very heated towards one another. As I stepped to the podium to welcome the crowd, I decided that I would just forget about everything for two hours and put a smile on my face. In doing this, I bit my tongue and put on a professional front that was all the crowd could see. No matter what happened, I was going to be as positive as I could be. When the chapter leadership pins were given out, I was announced as one of the recipients by my FFA advisor. He said that I completely deserved it for all of my dedication and hard work towards the chapter and that night’s banquet. All of the effort I put into my four years of my high school career had actually paid off. This is why I consider May 8, 2010, the day when I showed the best (and worst) of me!