It is 200 words too long so I will have to make it shorter.
Any opinions are appreciated. enjoy ;)
Evaluate a significant experience, achievement, risk you have taken, or ethical dilemma you have faced and its impact on you.
This year, there were elections at my school for "Students Council President" and I had always wanted to participate, so I decided to take part of it. I was very excited for I was going to have the chance to improve the school and make a change for the better. I consider myself an ambitious person so I was convinced I should run for president.
Normally, there would be no more than three candidates running for election and they did was give a speech in front of the entire school, but this year there were six in total, so things were going to be tougher. Something different had to be done and I was thinking on innovation.
People aren't much into the school elections anyway; elected presidents usually have a bad image since they promise things which they never accomplish. I had to make a difference and prove that I could do better. I didn't have as much popularity as some of the other candidates had, but that couldn't stop me.
Since students weren't really involved in the elections, and the whole process only lasted 1 day, students aren't motivated with the whole thing, for them it is just some time in which they get to skip class by having to listen to all the speeches. This had to change.
Since I have always enjoyed following anything to do with politics either nationally or worldwide, I compared my run for presidency to a proper national election one, and among the differences, there was one which struck me the most: The lack of a campaign. There had never been a tradition of doing so in our school so I thought I should start something new, and make it happen.
I designed a funny poster with my face on it and printed many of them to stick around the school. I also wanted to make a connection with my potential voters, so I baked around 100 muffins which I took to school the next day. We didn't have "the best" canine service in our school so I would personally offer them for free during the break.
The next day, I set a table in the recess area up and I and my friends used it as a stand to give away free muffins. As a result, a horde of children from all ages roared towards the table, after hearing someone shout: "Free Muffins!"
At the time, everybody was happy they were getting a free muffin giveaway, but my opponents got a bit annoyed. A few minutes later, they had all come up with improvised posters made out of cardboard, one could hear the shouts of their supporters crying their names: At that time I realized, I had started a proper campaign and everyone was being involved.
Of course, I didn't think of that, I just thought I would be the only one with a "small" campaign and I hoped that would give me a fair advantage among the rest; but it turned out it didn't. The amount of posters from other candidates totally outnumbered mine, and probably their campaign was being more "aggressive" than what I intended on doing. At the end of the day, the hallways were full of improvised posters and slogans made in just a few minutes.
The next day, I encountered myself in front of 600 people and I was offering my presidential speech to them. Although I proposed realistic measures and fancy proposals, a fellow candidate beat me. But the fact is, I have learned much more than I ever thought I would have; I realized that I had created a sense of enthusiasm and an ardor among the school. For the first time, everybody was actually getting involved with the elections, directly or indirectly I had sparkled the school's involvement with the elections since people from every year, had actively participated in the campaigns of the candidate they supported.
Overall, this experience had a positive impact on the way I see things now. Of course, everybody would have preferred to win but what I experienced during all this election process is something which I will never forget. The fact that I decided to introduce something new, a desire for innovation or just a simple change in the way things were, actually served as enlightenment and an inspiration for many which will hopefully last for years after my departure from school.
Any opinions are appreciated. enjoy ;)
Evaluate a significant experience, achievement, risk you have taken, or ethical dilemma you have faced and its impact on you.
This year, there were elections at my school for "Students Council President" and I had always wanted to participate, so I decided to take part of it. I was very excited for I was going to have the chance to improve the school and make a change for the better. I consider myself an ambitious person so I was convinced I should run for president.
Normally, there would be no more than three candidates running for election and they did was give a speech in front of the entire school, but this year there were six in total, so things were going to be tougher. Something different had to be done and I was thinking on innovation.
People aren't much into the school elections anyway; elected presidents usually have a bad image since they promise things which they never accomplish. I had to make a difference and prove that I could do better. I didn't have as much popularity as some of the other candidates had, but that couldn't stop me.
Since students weren't really involved in the elections, and the whole process only lasted 1 day, students aren't motivated with the whole thing, for them it is just some time in which they get to skip class by having to listen to all the speeches. This had to change.
Since I have always enjoyed following anything to do with politics either nationally or worldwide, I compared my run for presidency to a proper national election one, and among the differences, there was one which struck me the most: The lack of a campaign. There had never been a tradition of doing so in our school so I thought I should start something new, and make it happen.
I designed a funny poster with my face on it and printed many of them to stick around the school. I also wanted to make a connection with my potential voters, so I baked around 100 muffins which I took to school the next day. We didn't have "the best" canine service in our school so I would personally offer them for free during the break.
The next day, I set a table in the recess area up and I and my friends used it as a stand to give away free muffins. As a result, a horde of children from all ages roared towards the table, after hearing someone shout: "Free Muffins!"
At the time, everybody was happy they were getting a free muffin giveaway, but my opponents got a bit annoyed. A few minutes later, they had all come up with improvised posters made out of cardboard, one could hear the shouts of their supporters crying their names: At that time I realized, I had started a proper campaign and everyone was being involved.
Of course, I didn't think of that, I just thought I would be the only one with a "small" campaign and I hoped that would give me a fair advantage among the rest; but it turned out it didn't. The amount of posters from other candidates totally outnumbered mine, and probably their campaign was being more "aggressive" than what I intended on doing. At the end of the day, the hallways were full of improvised posters and slogans made in just a few minutes.
The next day, I encountered myself in front of 600 people and I was offering my presidential speech to them. Although I proposed realistic measures and fancy proposals, a fellow candidate beat me. But the fact is, I have learned much more than I ever thought I would have; I realized that I had created a sense of enthusiasm and an ardor among the school. For the first time, everybody was actually getting involved with the elections, directly or indirectly I had sparkled the school's involvement with the elections since people from every year, had actively participated in the campaigns of the candidate they supported.
Overall, this experience had a positive impact on the way I see things now. Of course, everybody would have preferred to win but what I experienced during all this election process is something which I will never forget. The fact that I decided to introduce something new, a desire for innovation or just a simple change in the way things were, actually served as enlightenment and an inspiration for many which will hopefully last for years after my departure from school.
