The True Leaders of Society by Abigail

The True Leaders of Society by Abigail - May 2024 Scholarship Essay

“Leader” takes on a non-traditional view for me. When picturing a leader, one would typically imagine a general leading his troops into battle or perhaps the head CEO of a multimillion-dollar worth company. However, I imagine a leader as the kid who stands up for who stands up for his classmate when they are getting bullied. I envision the one car rolling down their window to hand a 10-dollar bill to the homeless man standing out in the snow after all those stuck waiting at the stoplight have averted their gazes from his pleading sign. I see the single mom working two day jobs and still finding time to tuck her kids in at bedtime.

Leadership occurs when people can face the hard truth, the ugly reality, that everyone else would be keen to ignore. It’s all too easy to walk by those that are struggling and need to be cared for when we claim that we have enough problems ourselves. A leader may not always be the flashiest or the one that stands out the most, but rather the one that cares to go the extra mile to be there for someone.

This quality I admire most in my father. As I have grown up, he has not only pulled my family out of the depths of poverty but done so with so much love for my sisters and me. Every day, he would take us to school with a smile plastered on his face and come home from his job with a big hug for each of us, no matter if he had just worked a ten-hour day or if he was wondering how he would afford to feed us that night. Thus, for the majority of my childhood, I was happily oblivious to our financial struggles, thanks to the kindness and selflessness of my father. He led my family through the rocky terrain of poverty while smoothing out our paths with his compassionate heart. That is leadership in my eyes.