Kind and Courageous by Sarah

Kind and Courageous by Sarah - November 2018 Scholarship Essay

Here I am, standing before the entire student body with my knees shaking. I have been voted in as a top ten homecoming queen candidate and have to give a speech before all my peers. To say I am nervous is an understatement. To make this even worse, there was a random drawing for the order of the speeches and I was drawn last. As the other students gave their speeches my anxiety continued to grow. I could have backed out. I wouldn't have been the only one to make this choice. My ex-boyfriend told that I would not be able to do it and that was all the motivation I needed to try.
I am certainly taking a risk by giving this speech. I have never attempted to be a leader or stand out in front of the crowd. I think I am here, in this position because I try to be nice to everyone. This lifestyle may not always accepted by the "in crowd" at our school but it has worked for me. I may not agree with the way they treat others but I still include them in my kindness campaign.
The theme of our speeches was "There's no place like John Glenn High School." I wrote my speech and included the characters from The Wizard of Oz. At this moment, my brain was becoming mush, my heart was racing, and my courage was wavering. I have some great friends who knew I was nervous and they wore neon shirts so I could find them easily. When I got really nervous, I looked at them. They cheered for me and made me feel so much better.
In the end, I was not named the homecoming queen. I still feel like a winner though. I took a risk and put myself into an uncomfortable situation. I am still standing here. I survived. My theme for my senior year is to take more risks and step out of my comfort zone. I have joined new clubs and played on the senior girls powder puff football team. The new me is going to be about self-confidence and empowerment. The words I would choose for my yearbook quote would be "kind and courageous." It is something I hope my classmates will remember about me.