Freshmen year. Confusion, weirdness, awkwardness, intimidation all nicely tied up in a year. Like many other rising freshmen, I felt like I was walking into a dark tunnel, not knowing where it would lead me. So like many others, I took online classes the summer before so that I could open up a spot in my schedule to take another career pathway class for more exposure. However, the way the process worked at my school, I had to wait until the last week of summer to request my new class. So I go into freshmen orientation and submit my top choices to fill up the last spot in my schedule. I was already taking a business class, so I ranked the rest of my choices. Marketing was my third or fourth choice and I felt really confident that I would get one of my first two choices.

The first day of school came around and I got my new schedule. And my fourth-period class was Marketing. I really did not want to take this class, I had no interest in marketing whatsoever and I was already taking a business class so I saw it as a waste of time. I had just about made up my mind to talk to my counselor to change out of that course, but I decided to ask my marketing teacher beforehand. I told her after one of the first classes, and she told me that many people actually take both classes (marketing and business). So I got thinking again. I thought about having to go through the whole schedule change process all over again, and I decided to just stick with the class. I thought I could just switch out of the pathway when the next year came around.

A couple of months went by and an application for DECA (marketing co-curricular organization) competition came out. I had no intention to compete, so I didn't even go to any of the interest meetings. As the sign-up window was coming to a close, my marketing teacher calls me up to her desk at the end of class one day. She asks me if I wanted to compete and thought that I would do well because of the presentations I had given in class. I still don't know what it was that made me change my mind, but I agreed to compete. Looking back, that simple "yes" has changed my life in so many ways.

Fast forward to this year- I am currently a junior and also the Lambert DECA VP of Finance. I have competed in DECA for the past three years, which has given me the opportunity to travel to California and Orlando for International Competition. But the impact on my life does not stop with the success of the competition. I have grown so many skills through DECA in the past three years from being a shy, confused freshman to a confident junior. Just the thought of speaking in front of crowds gave me the shivers three years ago, but today I have surpassed any expectations I had for myself. DECA has given me the courage to speak up and speak loud for the causes that I believe in. It has given me the voice that was buried deep inside me for years, waiting to express itself. DECA gave me the opportunity to work with an amazing family this past year to spread a message so close to my heart. But most importantly, DECA has given me people that CARE. Along with my DECA journey, I have met so many people that truly want me to succeed and believe in me, pushing me every day to become a better version of myself, to work towards my dreams and passions. So THANK YOU, to all the friends, family and advisors that believe in me. And thank you for the scheduling error that changed my life.