When Someone is 10% Right by Noah

When Someone is 10% Right by Noah - March 2024 Scholarship Essay

By the time you enter your senior year of high school, you have a better sense of what you enjoy and how you’d like to be involved in class projects. I entered my Government & Politics class (or as we lovingly call it, “GoPo”) with this mindset. After the holidays, the class would divide in two parties, as the Republicans and Democrats, and my best friend and I would run together.

My creative nature of project planning and strategy coupled with my experience in Mock Trial made me an ideal candidate for the role of Vice President. I deferred the President role to Sylvia. She was well-liked in our senior class, and I respected that, plus knew it was good for securing the seats.

The day of selections I walked into the GoPo class confidently. I already had ideas of how Sylvia and I would market ourselves, taglines and more. As our peers began discussing who should represent our party, I realized that while Sylvia was being accepted as President that I was being sidelined as Vice President and favor was being given to another student. Sadly, even Sylvia wasn’t speaking up for me to be placed in the position, and while I knew she was worried it would affect her seat, I was crushed.

I brooded for days over the potential reasons I wasn’t elected. GoPo campaigns shouldn’t be based on popularity and yet I felt it had been. My skill set and passion weren’t recognized by the group, and I struggled to talk through it with Sylvia due to a nagging thought that she’d betrayed me. For years I’d taken up for her when our peers attempted to knock her down or didn’t accept her. I needed her in this moment and found myself alone.

Over the next couple of weeks, our party discussed responsibilities and open roles. Campaign Manager was an important influence on the campaign and securing votes. I focused my energy there and told myself it was the better fit for me. In class I shared ideas with my peers and found them shutting them down, one by one. My energy waned for GoPo and the campaign I’d looked forward to and I stepped aside for another student to take on the role.

As I watched our group fail to pull together and move forward as one unit on the campaign messaging, video editing and strategy, I stopped engaging to my fullest. They obviously didn’t want to hear my ideas. The Vice President put into place wasn’t making time after school to knock out action steps and Sylvia dialed my phone to share her concern. I listened with mixed emotions or not at all. Failure was deserved.

Half of our party became frustrated by the Vice President candidate and discussed removing him and inserting me. I felt my energy soar again; however, it was more toxic than when I’d originally started this class project. I was fixated on how I was better and what the team failed to see in me the first round.
An intervention was planned, and I was ready for it. I felt confident as the discussions began, smug even.

The conversation was tense and midway through another student, Becky, said “Noah, why should I place you into this role now? When you didn’t get your way the first time you sulked and became distant. You didn’t even take on the role of Campaign Manager, which was just as important. Why would I award someone the role of Vice President that didn’t support the team when he didn’t get his way?” We ended the meeting and promised we’d confirm the decision the next day.

Stunned and angry at Becky, I went home and shared the update with my parents. I was frustrated that someone accused me of being the type of person I prided myself on never being. Too much of a natural people pleaser, I had often put another person’s needs ahead of my personal goals and now I was being labeled as selfish and emotional. My parents listened with empathy, and then my mom asked, “I know what Becky said was tough to hear. Thinking about what she said, is there anything that has truth to it, even just 10%?”

It would be tough to not recognize someone being 10% right and so I contemplated Becky’s words. The next morning, I went to class, refreshed from sleep and more at peace than I’d been for weeks, and thanked her for speaking up. Becky was vulnerable in that moment, saying what she said to me and that was brave. I took accountability for my lack of energy and spirit of teamwork. And I recommitted to taking on the responsibilities the group felt best for me to take on.

Was I elected to Vice President? No. My vision of what senior year would include wasn’t to match the reality. However, that afternoon the group texts exploded, and creative ideas flowed. Some of mine were included and my confidence rebounded.

While I know I never left my team completely stranded, Becky’s insight provided me with a mirror of my thoughts and their resulting actions. For that, I am thankful and know it will be a life lesson to carry forward.