D-Day finally arrived. The adrenaline rushed inside me. My excitement and nervousness were at par with each other, as I waited expectantly for the teacher to call out my name.

Well, let’s just say I’m still waiting.

Every year, our school gives out leadership badges to the high school students. Club leaders, house captains, head boy/girl are some of the positions for which these badges are awarded. Apart from the head boy, who is elected, the teachers choose the leaders for the other posts.

I felt that leadership is an innate quality of mine. I knew that if given a chance, I would be up to the task of leading a student body. Thus, when students were asked for nominations for the student council, I was quick to put forward my name for the post of house captain.

Friends kept telling me that I was "definitely going to get a badge" and that there was no way I wouldn’t get one. My head was in the clouds, and feet far from the ground; I took my place in the Student Council almost for granted.

The rejection hit me hard.

No amount of consoling or sympathy from my parents or friends could alleviate my somber mood. Self-doubt and bitterness still colored my thoughts as I began to introspect. Was I really seen as someone incapable to take up responsibility or were there others who were more deserving than I was? I spent a lot of time thinking about what I lacked that the others possessed.

When I look back on that time now, I realize how crucial this period of introspection was, and the answers I found to my questions were truly eye-opening.

I realized that if you really want something, you have to stand up and work hard for it. There’s no benefit from being good at something if you haven’t been able to demonstrate it to the people around you. Looking back, I recounted a couple of instances when I had shied away from responsibility; "someone else will take care of it" was my attitude at the time. Take an instance in my junior year: I have having always been good at dramatics and public speaking, the teacher gave me the responsibility of organizing a street play that was to be performed in front of the whole school. But, I didn’t take the job seriously, remained casual about it and soon delegated my duties to a fellow student.

I learned that when opportunity presents itself, you need to grab it and make the most of it. Squandered chances don’t ever return.

A quote one of my friends had said to me really stuck in my mind

"When opportunity doesn’t knock, build a door."

And that’s exactly what I did.

In my senior year, I proposed the idea of having a School Yearbook for the Graduating Class. It was a new idea, that hadn’t been done before in school. It took all of my persuasion skills to get my principal on board with my idea, but she finally agreed to it. The yearbook gave me a chance to display both my writing and leadership skills.

I also volunteered and became one of the main leaders for the book donation drive held in my school. The drive was massively successful and I was praised for the way I handled and organized it.

Apart from this, I also started to shoulder a lot more responsibility when it came to putting up shows and performances.

The rejection played an important part in shaping me. It taught me how to deal with adversities with a clear and logical mind. Maintaining my self belief was the hardest but the most important thing to do. I don’t need a golden badge on my chest to know that I can lead.

The rejection taught me more than what the badge would have.