Leadership development through obstacles by Deybi

Leadership development through obstacles by Deybi - May 2019 Scholarship Essay

The oldest memory I have is my first day in this country. My mom holding me on her right and my sister on her left, walking down the pavement past a church on Holly St, and I, 2 years old on my way to meet my dad for the first time. My dad was a stranger to me, he had came to this country a couple of weeks before my birth and it took him 2 years to be able to afford to bring my mom, my sister, and I to the United States. Since then it’s been a spray of obstacles that have developed my leadership through my school and social life.
An obstacle that I had to overcome as a kid was learning english. I was 8 years old and the only reason why I wouldn’t try to learn english was because I preferred spanish, until my 3rd grade teacher told me that I had to start practicing my english so that I could have better communication with everybody else. As I continued to learn, a challenge that I faced was learning to read and write as well. Overcoming this obstacle really made me develop leadership through my social life by not only being able to interact with others but also by being able to show kindness and respect to my teachers, family and friends.
An obstacle that I faced recently is having the leading role in the UIL one-act play this year. One of my friends who was in theatre told me that they were looking for a male lead to perform in the play, so I auditioned and got the part. At first, it was awkward and challenging to have to pretend to be somebody else and the thought of having to perform in front of an audience is what scared me the most. However, come show night, I really felt the leading role and gave a great show. Having the leading role in theatre showed me what it meant to have responsibility over my character and my performance.
Another obstacle that I faced and struggle with today is the environment that I am raised in and being a first-generation college student. I am raised in an environment that has no idea what college is or what you need in order to be successful in college. However, the environment that I was raised in made me work hard and be able to get accepted by colleges and universities. Now I find myself being a role model to my younger family members who are still in elementary school and await a challenge in applying and getting into college.
Even though I didn’t grow up around people who were able to go to college or even high school, I was still encouraged by them and their experiences to learn and pursue a higher education. For as long as I can remember I have always been motivated to do well in school and that's what I think developed my leadership qualities in not only my school and social life but also in the high standards that I set for myself.