What is the most important lesson you've learned from a teacher by Alyssa

What is the most important lesson you've learned from a teacher by Alyssa - July 2016 Scholarship Essay

When I started high school, I wanted to be there for all the wrong reasons. I slept in class and never studied. While I did not do much, I did join JROTC. There my instructor/coach, MSG, taught me the biggest lesson I have ever learned: how to be a leader. There are some people who believe leadership cannot be learned but I was taught how to believe in myself and get out of my comfort zone. Before I even realized, I was a leader.
I was a shy girl who never reached five feet tall. In the beginning of JROTC, when I was given instructions to attempt something I had never done before, I was a little frightened. We always had announcements in JROTC and one day they stated they were having tryouts for raiders. That was the start of it all. Immediately the day after I got my physical, I was out there ready to go. It was a nightmare. I was not aware I was going to be carrying a thirty-five-pound backpack going over obstacles and running. I could not even do twenty push-ups because I was so weak. Yet, MSG started talking to me. He believed I could last the season and I did. I lasted all four years. He talked me into believing in myself and getting out of my comfort zone. To challenge myself and go further than I thought possible. I was on a B-team which you could call a junior varsity that year. By my senior year, I was to help lead my own team.
I never pictured myself being in charge. I never liked the idea of people staring at me and judging me before they even knew me. I was the type to sit back and not talk in class. MSG quickly picked this up and would call on me in class. I did not like it. He would put me in positions where I would be in charge in class. I did not like it. Every year, I would go a little bit higher in rank each time. Finally, my senior year, I was to be on staff. Staff runs JROTC. Also, I was to be co-commander on raiders. It was a mixed team. The guys on the team only listened to one person and that was themselves. We would fuss so much MSG would have daily talks with the “team”. If I could go back, I would. However, now I know what it is like to be in charged and it not mean a thing. I look at that season as an example of being a leader. Being a leader does not mean you always win.
As I stated before, I was on a mix team my senior year of high school. That fact was the reason my last year of raiders was the absolute worst. We were competing one rainy day, and I fell. The reason I fell was of a huge tractor tire that was on top of me while I was attempting to flip it over. No one could help me because we would have gotten disqualified. I got from underneath it and flipped it over. We got last place in that area. However, when we got back on the bus and I was passing MSG, he told me “You did good. I didn’t think you were going to be able to get back up”. I should have been hurt by the comment. Yet, it did not affect me in a bad way. I was proud that I proved him and everyone else wrong. I did it. Laying there on the ground with grass all over me and this huge black tire on top of me, I did not give up. I believed in myself because MSG taught me how to lead. How to help others and help myself. If I had just laid there until someone came to help, I would not be helping my team. Most important I would have not been helping myself. I used everything he taught me in those four years in those precious seconds.
MSG pushed me and he pushed me to get out of my comfort zone. When I thought I was comfortable enough out in the open, he would push some more. He pushed me through the worst time period in my high school career. He was not only kind to me but he taught me the most important lesson I have ever learned: how to be a leader. Being a leader means you don’t always win. Being a leader means helping others than just yourself. Some say you cannot become a leader, that you are born with the ability. I disagree. You can develop the skill just like any other. I never once thought I was capable of such and MSG proved me wrong. Then I turned around and proved him wrong. Learning how to lead was the biggest lesson I have ever learned and I can thank my teacher/coach for that.