Leaders - Essay

To my English professor and my colleagues, a pleasant afternoon! I am here in front of the class for I am task to deliver a speech. My speech is about my journey as a leader.
The days I spent in the Supreme Student Government were the most memorable chapter I had in high school. Undeniably, I needed some sharpening, mostly painful ones, yet still I was able to surpass those trials making me stronger, wiser, and better as a person and as a leader.  
For a long time, I thought that being a leader meant being in charge and telling everybody else what to do. When I joined my school’s Supreme Student Government way back   in my junior year, I learned that it’s not about being “the boss.” All the members of the group tried to be “in charge” at once and because of this the group fell apart. I learned an important lesson about being a leader. Leadership is about influence, good people skills, commitment and knowing when to show the way rather than to lead the way.
An important thing to realize when you’re a leader is you have to take your role seriously because the rest of the student body is watching you. When I applied for the SSG presidency, two of the requirements were good grades and good attendance. At first, I was a little skeptical and didn’t understand why these two things were necessary, but I soon learned why they were requirements. Student leaders have the power to influence other students. If I came to school late or got a bad grade, one of the first things students would say was “aren’t you a student leader?” or “how are you coming to school late and you’re a student leader?” My peers were watching me and they were looking up to me. Many other students at The Sauyo High School agreed that being a leader is about setting an example. After realizing this, I started to be mindful of the things I said and did.
One thing is certain though – THE JOURNEY WAS NEVER EASY.
It was not easy for an ordinary girl like me to out stand other young brilliant leaders in...