Sheep by Shelby

Sheep by Shelby - March 2015 Scholarship Essay

Are you a shepherd or a sheep? Does it matter? Yes. When you are being lead around you don’t know how to walk on your own, when you are being lead around you have never had to build the skills it takes to overcome obstacles or face challenges, when you are being lead around you have never been alone, and isn't that what college is about? Having the ambition and drive to get out there and find yourself, to learn new things and meet new people?

Although maybe it may seem alright to follow now, we don’t always have someone to help us through and tell us what to do. Once we become independent, there are a lot of things we’ll have to do alone, for example, finding a place to live, buying a car, or finding a stable job. No one will just hand you those things and in order to properly represent yourself and what you need, you must have basic leadership skills.

Being a leader shows that you are competent, it shows that you matter, it shows you are willing to do what it takes to get the job done. Once you graduate college jobs don’t just come to you, and those leadership skills will be needed to succeed in getting a job. They are what set you apart; they are what make you desirable. For other people to believe in you, you need to believe in yourself.

Life is only going to get harder from here, not only will we be put in new environments, but we’ll be face with new challenges. Even though you may not think challenges you've seen so far were that difficult, if you haven’t learned to handle the small stuff how do you expect to deal with the big stuff? What will you do when things get hard and you have never had to deal with stress or decision making? Gaining leadership skills is a tool, it's how you learn to face new challenges and new fears, these skills are what make you comfortable saying “this isn't working right here’s how I’m going to fix it.” They make you confident, they make you strong, they make you independent.

Even if logistical reasons weren't a factor, we should want them for ourselves. After spending 18 give or take a few years being told what to do and how to do it, we should want to branch out and learn to make something of ourselves and do it for ourselves. Even if we won't lead others; we need to lead ourselves.