Mainely Middle
Journal of the Maine Association for Middle
Level Education
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2000/2001 |
What it Means To Be A Scholar-LeaderGood evening honored students, ladies and gentlemen, and the honorable Ms. Herman. My name is Jennifer Chantrill and I am a freshmen at Edward Little High School in Auburn, Maine. I am a current member of the Civil Rights Team, an active member on the Freshmen Advisory Board and I also participate in soccer, basketball and track. Last year, in eighth grade, a quotation was introduced to me by a teacher. Joseph Campbell once said, "Follow your bliss." I interpreted this as doing what you love and loving what you do. Hopefully you are all doing that, whether it be being a captain of a sports team, a member of the band, or a star in the drama productions. Doing what makes you happy is what is important, but sometimes it may not be the popular thing to do. Sometimes you may get laughed at for doing something that you want to do, but, remember, it's what you do that makes you happy, not what other people think. To me, following my bliss means not being afraid to step up for what I believe in even if I know the repercussions of doing that. It's important for me to do that because it makes me feel good about myself and helps me in achieving my goal of making myself happy. I don't want to do this just because someone else wants me to; I want to do it for me, so that I can be content with myself. Being a scholar-leader is about you being a well-rounded person who is well-liked and respected by your peers, teachers, teammates, and parents. It's also about self-esteem and self-respect. Raising your hand in class shows leadership; challenging bias and hate language shows leadership; being independent, and doing what makes you happy shows leadership. These qualities make you who you are. The only person who can show off these wonderful qualities is you. For me, and maybe you, modeling yourself as a scholar-leader to your peers is very difficult. In our age group, our friends play an important role in our lives. Friends are always there for you when you need someone to talk to and they share the same common interests and hobbies as you. Sometimes you may feel like you're the only one doing the right thing. That's okay. It can feel weird and out of place when all your friends are doing something different. You show true strength if you're not afraid to stand up for what you believe in, even if you are sometimes standing alone. I admit that what my friends think has a sufficient amount of influence on how I think sometimes, especially when it comes to dealing with situations different from them. The Auburn Conference on Tolerance put together by the Auburn Middle School Civil Rights Team demonstrated that many students can come together and stand up for what they believe in. That was the common trait among these students. They were not afraid to make a difference and that energy that they exemplified had a direct effect on me. Moderating the student forum at the end of the day united all the topics discussed through workshops on hate, bias, and diversity. While I helped moderate this discussion, a tingly feeling engulfed my body. The students were reassuring me that I should not be afraid in my own life to step up and be a leader in all instances. You all can be out there teaching someone that it's okay to make a difference. People like you are teaching people like me. That by itself is empowering and promising. The words scholar and leader juxtapose each other but at the same time intertwine to make a powerful character trait that you are all being recognized for - being a scholar leader. Being a scholar is not always about making high honors or getting the best grade in the class and being a leader is not always about being the captain or the boss in the group. For you, it might mean turning in a piece of work that you worked hard on and having a satisfying feeling that you did a good job or it might mean demonstrating that cool science project to the class when you were so incredibly nervous that you thought you would fall on the floor. That is when your scholarship and leadership qualities are expressed in their true form. Think about all the times that you have taken a stand for what you believe in. How did you feel when you made a difference? How can you pass that on to others and demonstrate yourself as a leader to people you know? You may hold the qualities of being a well-rounded and respected individual, with strong leadership qualities, but it comes down to what you do with those qualities and how you put those qualities out on a table and exemplify and share them with others. Actions speak louder than words. If you know that, you step up as a leader and defend others, even though you are the only one doing it, you should be content with yourself. You don't need awards, newspaper articles, or handshakes to prove that. Knowing that you are a leader is rewarding in itself. To me, leadership is sometimes hard to define. There are no two sentences that define it perfectly. I call leadership, "What I do, what I practice, and what makes me happy." This mantra is reassuring when I am faced with a situation in which I am afraid to use my leadership skills. It helps knowing that in the end, I will have a positive experience and I will be happy with my actions. This is how I follow my bliss. Making a difference by yourself is a difficult task, but showing the enthusiasm and the optimism usually generates others to make a difference with you. Your leadership skills are given to you to share and to show, not to hide and be ashamed of. In my sixteen years of life, I have learned a lot about life itself and I have gained new knowledge about many things. I found out there is a lot they don't teach you in school. Leadership is one of those things they let you find for yourself. I guess it's hard to teach something you can only find deep inside, but finding leadership inside of yourself is a joyous feeling and passing it on to others is even more rewarding. Leadership is about finding it, keeping it, and passing it on to others. Overall, leadership is an attitude. My goal is to inspire you to keep doing what you are doing. The world is very big and there are a lot of people who are afraid to stand up for what they believe in. You are all leaders and can teach those people that it's okay to stand up for what they believe in. If you are sometimes afraid, that's okay. Being afraid is not a bad thing. Sometimes it makes us think about what we are doing. I hope that when you leave and go home and go back to school, you will not be afraid to stand up for what you believe in. As you look around, there are a lot of other people with the qualities of scholarship and leadership. As you can see, you are not standing alone. Being independent and doing the right thing can be difficult. Although true at times, the feeling you get when you step up and do the right thing empowers you to continue doing what you love and to follow your bliss. Robert Frost's poem, The Road Not Taken describes how I feel about being a scholar-leader. The last three lines of the poem state: I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference. Being a scholar leader is about you exploring life and stepping off the beaten path. Follow your bliss and don't forget to stand up for what you believe in. That will make all the difference.
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