The forty-fourth president of the United States of America, Barack Obama, ran for his first term in office on the ideas of Change and Hope. He believes that “yes, we can” make an impact on our world, even if that impact only directly affects a small community. The country’s history as a whole has been a series of minuscule raindrops of change that ripple out and spread virally to evolve the nation for the better. President Barack Obama’s idea of Change is one of my inspirations to become a leader in my community. With my Type A personality in hand, my constant initiative-taking, and change-bringing attitude constitutes me as an effective leader who can make and has made impacts all over an ever-growing community.
Leadership in and of itself is a quality that many people possess, yet few realize. What I mean by this is: almost everyone has unrecognized potential to be a great leader in some way, shape, or form. The world is full of leaders, but only some find it in themselves to bring this special quality to fruit. Speaking on leadership, I am led into an anecdote on why I believe I have found my ability to realize my potential. Back in my Sophomore year of high school, I had been signing up for my next year’s schedule, and applied to three theatre electives–Theatre III, Technical Theatre II, and Executive Intern for my director’s classroom. At the orientation for the following school year, however, I found that instead of having been placed in the Executive Intern position, I had been selected by the Leadership teacher to participate in her fourth period. Having an existing amicable relationship with this teacher in particular, and being close to the point where I would consider her a lasting friend, I remained in the class for the entire school year. In this year, I was put in charge of building multiple set pieces for concerts, pageants, and the Homecoming Dance, all the while having no clue what I was doing. On top of this, I took great initiative to assist in after school work to keep from running behind schedule on projects, I studied, memorized, and mastered Parliamentary Procedure and chaired in-class mock meetings, and I retained and grew friendships with my Leadership teacher and the rest of the school, inside and outside of the class.
Through the course of my Junior year, my standing in the ranks of Ocoee High School rose tremendously, and I brought about changes to the Leadership class that produced efficiency and motivation to continue a dedicated working regimen for my peers. I opened minds to the prospects of gender equality (in the sense that my female classmates can, in fact, build a Mars rover for Homecoming). I sacrificed time to change the way my peers view bullying (by bringing forth the knowledge that, having been bullied in elementary and middle schools, there are lasting negative effects on young minds). I brought about changes in the way people cleaned paint brushes after long days of hard work in order to leave in a more timely manner, with fewer stains on all of our clothes. My leadership in the, as I look back, ironically titled Leadership class helped to evolve the ten-year-old school’s student workforce into a well-oiled machine.
Most recently, I’ve come to the undertaking of the most influential, mind-numbingly busy position I have ever been in. In early 2015, Mr. Jeffery Cook, my high school’s theatre director and the sponsor of International Thespian Society Troupe 6893, was named the District Chairperson of District V of the Florida State Thespians, a rapidly growing collection of troupes all over the greater Orlando area. At the 2015 and 2016 District V Thespian Festivals, I came to be known as Schlomo (a nickname derived from my eighth grade role of Schlomo Metzenbaum in Fame Jr.) and Red Hat Guy (the nickname given to me and embraced by hundreds of District V thespians, all because of the red ballcap I wore). In my position as Red Hat Guy, I was responsible for being a timekeeper for One Act performances, staying on schedule for troupes’ dressing room times, escorting technicians to the sound and light booth prior to performances, creating a hospitable relationship with any and all judges, heading the Tally Running position for individual events, writing the script and stage managing the Closing Ceremonies, as well as countless other roles and performing in my own events. The list could literally go on for pages.
While doing this, I created and maintained hundreds of friendly relationships with my peers from all over the district. Additionally, I grew my title of Red Hat Guy into the social media director, inspiring and managing the creation of a District V Snapchat account, developing a Snapchat Geofilter for the 2016 festival, organizing takeovers from other troupes on special occasions, and starting the hashtag #ThrowbackThespians to generate interaction from the 1500 attendees of the 2016 festival. The change that I notice that I have brought about to the district as a whole is mind-boggling to me. In retrospect, I have no idea how I survived the countless hours of sleep I missed or the scores of meals I skipped. My position in District V Thespians is one of constant change, whether that be applicable to the job description (I say “job” because the work and hours I commit are worthy of a paycheck) or the new and exciting creative projects I develop. In this respect, I recognize in myself the leadership qualities and the impact I have on my theatre community.
In light of my millennial perspective on society as a whole, I feel as though the value the world places on leadership is dwindling. The recent presidential election was chock full of news, real and fake alike, of accusations on character. Why, when deciding who the leader of the free world is going to be, would the people and the mass media succumb to arguments on which of the dozens of candidates had a better disposition? Today’s world is increasingly becoming more and more focused on the superficial aspects of their leaders than what those leaders are actually doing to make our world better. One would be hard-pressed to find a news article that did not swing a story of triumph into some form of negative press toward that hero, or even an individual completely separate from the event.
During my attendance at any educational institution, I seek to pack my leadership qualities in their own specially-marked suitcase. I am influenced by my mentors’ bounty of knowledge and their willingness to help others. As an influencer in my own theatre community, I will take care to bring along to college my ability to inspire change and the willingness within others to change things. The key to my success as a leader, whether it be in a Leadership class, as Red Hat Guy, or at my future university and beyond, is to invoke positive evolution that has the capacity to unite legions of people. My favorite musical, which was the one that sparked my interest in theatre, is Wicked, by Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman. An underlying theme is that the citizens of Oz are united by their disgust of the Wicked Witch, Elphaba. However, it is Elphaba’s character grows into one of inspiration to millions of audience members worldwide, uniting them in the hopes that communities of misfits can succeed. As it is quoted from one of the most touching ballads in Broadway history, I live by the mantra: “Who can say if I’ve been changed for the better, but, I have been changed for good.”
