Caroline T., Chaminade Julienne High School
The Spirit Contest
“Okay, class, as you all know, we need to create a model of our school mascot for the school spirit week contest,” my 6th-grade homeroom teacher announced. “I have supplies laid out in the back of the classroom. Go ahead and get started.”
I shifted in my seat and started trying to brainstorm ideas. Maybe we could place our mascot in an airplane, I thought to myself. I had always loved aviation.
I sat there and waited for one of the extroverts to stand up and start leading the class. The minutes ticked away, and nothing happened, so I started working on homework. Nothing got done that day.
The next day was our last day to work. We had to get this done. No one was taking initiative. Suddenly, I stood up. I went to the whiteboard and wrote down my idea.
“Does anyone else have any ideas for the Spirit Week contest?” I called out.
My classmates looked up at me, startled. They shook their heads and went back to doing their homework.
I went to the back of the room and started drawing what I wanted our design to look like. I sketched the school robot in an airplane. I gathered the materials, then stood at the engineering room workbench. I started assembling the aircraft. A girl came over and asked if she could help. I nodded and gave her a task. We worked together for a few minutes.
Then, to my surprise, a boy came over and asked if he could help. I gave him a job to do as well.
This had a domino effect. One by one, people came up to me and asked for work. Pretty soon, my entire homeroom was helping. I had people painting, people hot gluing parts and pieces on, and a girl writing the explanation of our model. Everyone was contributing.
To my astonishment, I was the one leading them all. I organized tasks, kept people focused, and ensured that everything ran like clockwork. I looked up at my teacher, and she was smiling at me.
We got everything done, and it looked great! We got fourth place in the contest. It was not enough for a prize, but still really good because it was a whole school competition. We were very proud of our work.
I discovered something new about myself. I found that I could be a leader. My organizational skills and desire to get things done had rallied my entire homeroom to a single cause. I was incredibly proud of our work. Even though leading initially made me nervous, I began to feel more confident once I got into it. I learned a little about myself, and I grew as a result.
