Making Waves by Bailey

Making Waves by Bailey - March 2015 Scholarship Essay

Close your eyes and picture this: a grand hall filled to the brim with fresh high school graduates, loved ones, and faculty. Finally, a great roar arises from the section where the graduates have just lept to their feet and swung their caps into a mad tornado above their heads. With cameras flashing every which way and parents crying as they see their babies become adults, the graduates slide past their seats into the aisle and exit the illustrious auditorium. It is finished. High school is finished. Childhood is finished. The beginnings of their lives have now come to a close.

But what's next? For the past seven months, these seniors have felt invincible, like they were on top of the world. What will come of them now? In lay terms, these young men and women are now at the bottom of the food chain in our society. As they enter college, they will be dubbed as the ones with the least experience and even some of their fellow students in higher ranks will consider them their subordinates. Starting college is like going from a drop in a small glass of water to a speck in the ocean. As time goes on and the world gets bigger, it becomes harder for individuals to stand out and do what will make them successful: being a leader.

Each and every person that has ever lived on this planet has or has had the opportunity to lead. Some people choose to submerge this gift within the depths of themselves for fear of being different from the crowd. They are more willing to get lost in a sea of faces than to rise up in the midst of others around them trying to pull them down. They crave all the money, fame, and ultimate success, minus the grueling task of leading others. Sadly enough for these people, this path of life they choose to pursue is nonexistent. However, others choose to take an opportunity and milk it for every ounce of its worth. These are the people whose actions cause reactions in others. These are the people that make waves in the ocean of society. These are our world-changers. These are our leaders.

Nothing great has ever come from people that continually choose to live in mediocrity. Somewhere, somehow, there's that defining moment when it comes time to start making waves. Here's the thing about waves: they can be messy, they can be uncontrollable, but they can also be very influential. No one can go out to a beach and hold up their hand yelling, "Stop!" and, by force, cause the wave to subside. The momentum has already been built up and there is no stopping it. The same can be said about those in college. Having essential leadership skills is crucial for their success so they can cause tsunamis of change in their communities tomorrow. These college students are on the brink of stepping off into the work force and beginning the rest of their lives, so exercising leadership skills in college allows them to start making a difference before they even step off of their college campuses.