Art by Jayden Quinn

BY JAYDEN QUINN

Necessity of Leadership Development Why was I left on unread? Do my friends hate me? Why don’t I have as many followers? These are only minor examples of the fears that are felt by nearly every teenager in modern day society. Such recurring thoughts can easily lead to feelings of inadequacy. What many fail to realize, however, is that you aren’t alone with these emotions, instead you are surrounded by millions of people that worry the exact same things. As such, we are all faced with the same decision. Will I keep persisting through challenge or will I recede in defeat? The option you choose is what defines you as either a leader or a follower. A leader is the person who isn’t afraid to be wrong, fail, or ask for help when needed. From a young age I was taught to be a leader. A leader isn’t the person who talks the loudest but instead the individual who guides others to finding their voices and who takes into consideration many different ideas. There is not one singular correct approach in becoming a leader. But such an endeavor requires a strong support system. The first place that any child can prosper is in the classroom. Yet as we all can recall, school is not entirely filled with success. There are many failures involved that can be defeating to developing adolescents if not properly addressed. Schools need to be a place of nurturing to help guide students along to victory. A couple years back, I had been traveling to Costa Rica with my family. We were walking through the streets when we suddenly found ourselves lost. None of my family members spoke Spanish which left us in an unfortunate situation. Rather than becoming dismayed and frustrated, I decided to use my hefty knowledge of elementary-level Spanish skills to guide us back to the hotel. In that circumstance, I was again faced with the same decision of either giving in to failure or continuing to persist. While it was certainly not easy and more than confusing, I mean who knew that being able to describe the weather and colors weren’t needed in determining directions? It was definitely worth it in the end because I left our vacation with more knowledge than I had previously held and with a new sense of empowerment. I learned that while a support system is imperative to success, your number one believer must be yourself. Otherwise you are just floundering in an unforgiving ocean of failure and self-doubt. Every single day you have the choice to be anything you want. My question for you is who do you want to be?