Personal Narrative: Rotary Youth Leadership

Sitting around the lunch table, my two friends and I worriedly considered our futures. Requested to represent our school at the Rotary Youth Leadership Award camp, we weakly accepted the invitation. We were shocked, to say the least, that the three of us had been selected, as we, I especially, did not fit the bold, dauntless, Type A personality. Though we normally avoided risks, we agreed to attend the camp, for it appeared to be an opportunity to build our leadership qualities; but could we last the entire weekend? Uncertain, we waited for the date to arrive.

Upon arriving at the camp, my friends and I were immediately separated in order to facilitate the creation of new friendships. Nervously, I walked over to my team and shyly introduced …show more content…
Perhaps natural transformations did not occur quickly, but this was no ordinary alteration. I amicably greeted my team members as we met in the main room. As we began our team exercises and leadership activities, I did not take charge, but I also did not sit in the background. When creating an “invention” purely from recycled items, I suggested modifications to our cardboard, Christmas-resembling centerpiece, rather than letting a dictatorship form. At the next meal, I started a conversation with some of the other, less included members. It was awkward, but it was there. With each sentence and action, uncomfortable as it was, I courageously trudged forward, making myself- and everyone else that I could- a part of something larger than the shallow cliché I originally assumed all camps to be. And as my awkward smiles were returned, I knew that, even if slowly, I was progressing towards my own personal …show more content…
The first scheduled activity was a short presentation on bullying. As each member’s part was being determined, I stepped up to play the main speaking role of the narrator, perhaps not fully realizing what I was doing. Though used to acting, I still shook on stage as I spoke in front of one hundred people- though unknown, I do not feel as if they were strangers- about the fictional experiences created from both the hearts and minds of the members. And while delivering the ending monologue, an internal sea change occurred: I opened up, and as fate would have it, I also began to cry. Instantly, I felt warmth surround me as my team members embraced me on the stage. No longer was I “just there,” submitting to the natural hierarchy based on the willingness to boss others around; I was happily and entirely “there,” building friendships and memories and everything else people desire to experience. Cheesy as it may sound, it was