Young Individuals Keeping Everything Spiritual (YIKES) by Shardae

Young Individuals Keeping Everything Spiritual (YIKES) by Shardae - January 2017 Scholarship Essay

The day my soul began to glow was the day I pushed all fear aside and took a leap of faith.

The day was May 15, 2015, my junior year, where I sat in a crowded lecture room listening to a sermon from a fellow student of my high school. He was the president of a Christian club on campus known as "Y.I.K.E.S For Christ", to this day I yet to know what that acronym stood for back then. However, as he ended the sermon with a lyrical prayer he then announced something that would change my life forever. He said, "I will be graduating soon and going off to college. Y.I.K.E.S. needs a new leader for next year. If you feel God has called you to a higher purpose please feel free to see me after our session here today." At the moment something began stir within me. Call it what you want, but I truly felt God tugging at my heart to take on the task. And so I did; despite the possibility of failure and despite the fear!

That following year, my senior year, I became the president of Y.I.K.E.S. I even changed the meaning of the acronym. For me Y.I.K.E.S. stood for "Young Individuals Keeping Everything Spiritual" and that is exactly what we did. Although I suffered from terrible stage fright, I went in front of my peers every Thursday to give a sermon of spiritual encouragement. For many Y.I.K.E.S provided a place of refuge for those who could not find it beyond the walls of high school. Great things went on in that organization. We never received any compensation for our movement, but being able to see smiles on once frowning face brought me joy in ways that money could not. You see Y.I.K.E.S was all about lifting sad and wounded spirits through love and community. And through Y.I.K.E.S I learned that by showing others that they have a place and purpose in life results in a rebirth within themselves. I was privileged to witness individuals change their perspective of themselves from a negative to a positive which revealed to me that all it takes is one person to show you that you are worth diamonds. All it takes is for one person to show you that the sky is the limit. This experience has opened my eyes to the fact that it only takes ONE PERSON to make a positive impact on a majority.

In addition, would you believe that teaching people their worth and spiritual strength would later lead me to become a preschool teacher. Now I enlighten the minds of young people with hopes of growing resilient individuals with a sense of purpose and self worth. I teach the children how to love each other, but more importantly how to love themselves. I can honestly say my experience as president of a Christian organization has allowed me see people in a way that is sensitive and empathetic. At the end of the day, whether we admit or not, everyone wants to love and be loved, but we must first love ourselves. That is key. Any opportunity one has to make an impact, go for it you'll be surprised how much it will impact you in return.