I was never popular or in a group of outcasts, only forever stuck in the undistinguishable middle. Ironically, it is the largest group of students, whose intellect ranges from slightly below average to slightly above it. We are neither ingenious enough nor dopey enough to receive any special attention. We participate in activities and sports without receiving any high recognition. That is the bottomless pit where I spent a hefty chunk of my High School career. Most peers and teachers who did not know me well would describe me as quiet and studious, someone who only opened up to a group of tightly knit friends. Friends would describe me as sarcastically humorous, animated, and sometimes arrogantly confident.
The first quarter of my junior year passed by before I realized that I no longer desired to pass along undetected. I wanted to be known, recognized, and even remembered. I made it my personal goal to be more sociable with my peers in or out of class and to take any opportunity to help someone instead of being asked to. Only another quarter later, the end of the first semester I noticed a change in the way I was treated and my own demeanor as well. Throughout the day I was now often greeted with numerous “hey’s” ,”hi’s”, and “what’s up’s”. I myself became more cheerful knowing I was not only approaching my goal but, enjoying all the new personalities I interacted with. In English class I was named “bumptious”, one of our vocabulary words, by Mrs. Svonavec because of my playful self-righteous attitude. In Spanish class Señora Rose dubbed me “the hulk” due to my physical strength and boldness. To this day most of my peers still address me by one of those nicknames rather than my real name.
A combination of my new backbone and the encouragement of Mrs. Warner, a true mentor, and my friends I toke the stride to run for Student Council President, a long time hope of mine. Up against the brilliance of two candidates of the popular crowd, who participated in more activities than one could count, I did not expect to win. In a way the whole process was another way that I needed to prove my worth to myself. Covered by my so called mask of “bumptiousness”, no one would ever guess that I shared with the majority of my peers the fear of being humiliated in front of the whole student body. My anxiety heightened by the fact that while most girls dreamt of dating the schools most popular jock I dreamed of becoming student council president.
The weeks leading up to the speeches, my two best friends Hadeel and Sophie created their own form of a campaign committee. By the time voting day came around my name was plastered over the whole school. A familiar nauseous feeling rose in my throat when it was my turn to share my plans as president. Starting off softly my voice became dauntless and evident as I noticed all the smiles thrown my way in the front of the auditorium. Received with lively applause my pride swelled as I thanked the crowd and walked off stage. The next morning my homeroom immediately became silent as the principal announced my victory. I was completely stunned as the room erupted into cheers and congratulated me. The day passed by as if it were a hallucination where I could not remove the contagious smile from my face.
Realizing my most significant goals and overcoming my fear of public speaking made my junior year the most eventful of my high school experience so far. My first victory lead me to run for senior class president as well. With the pressures of these new duties for my senior year I hope to achieve new goals and leave behind a set of standards that future officers will need to work diligently to overcome.