Impacting Others by Lacey

Impacting Others by Lacey - November 2019 Scholarship Essay

In everyday life, we make choices. The choices we make have consequences. Not only do they impact us personally, but they also impact those around us. We may not always realize it at the time, but when we look closely, the impact is there, no matter how big or small it might be.
In my four years of attending St. Elizabeth High School, I like to think that my positive attitude and drive and the choices they have lead me to have impacted those around me. In everything I do, I try my hardest, even when I think I might fail. Freshman year, I faced a major challenge. I had become a member of Future Business Leaders of America. Within this organization, there are competitions at the district, state, and national levels. It had been several years since anyone at my school had qualified for Nationals, so long ago that many thought it was an impossible task. “Why try?” I would hear my classmates say. “What’s the point? It’s not like it’s even a possibility, so why waste my time?” Being who I am, I knew that the challenge was hard. I knew that I might fail. But, I also knew that if I didn’t try to the best of my abilities, I would never know if I could do it or not. I had to try, so that’s what I did.
I competed in Introduction to Public Speaking despite my anxieties. I am a perfectionist, so creating a speech was hard for me. No matter how many times I tried, I couldn’t seem to create anything “good enough.” This hindered me at first because I got discouraged. I wanted my words to be impactful, to have meaning. For this reason, I decided to talk about the one thing I lacked the most—confidence. I fought with myself back and forth for weeks until I finally came up with a rough draft of my speech. The next step was to practice in front of my classmates so I could attempt to overcome my stage fright. As I stood there shaking in front of my class, I presented my speech, completely vulnerable as I talked about my lack of confidence and the opportunities from which it held me back. I knew this was something I had to overcome, and speaking in front of my peers was one way for me to do that. By the end of my speech, I looked up expectant of their reactions. They all clapped for me and said encouraging words. They said it was meaningful and had a great impact.
This helped settle my fears as I competed at districts. To my surprised satisfaction, I qualified for state competitions. This was the next step. Whether or not I placed in the top four would determine if I could compete at Nationals. I kept my determination, knowing that I might fail, by practicing many times. My hard work paid off as I placed third and qualified to compete in California at the National Convention. I couldn’t believe I had done it!
Not only did my success inspire and motivate myself, but it also showed other members at my school that, yes, it was possible. Even someone from the small town of St. Elizabeth could do it. The following year, students put in more effort in their events. Their hard work paid off as two members qualified for Nationals and three others were one place behind qualifying. They knew it was possible; all they had to put in was hard work.
When I signed up for my competition, I had no idea of the effect it would have. It wasn’t until I looked closer that I saw my choices affected more than me, that I had made a difference in the attitudes of others. It is amazing, without knowing it, we can make an impact for the better.