By Darien Van Winkle, Leilehua High School

When I first arrived at Trường trung học Leilehua, I found myself without many friends, unsure of my purpose, and stuck in a monotonous routine that made every day feel like Groundhog Day. This is an experience that many students I know can relate to, going through high school without anything that pulls them toward brighter horizons. 

However, everything changed during my sophomore year. I ended up joining the Speech and Debate team, and I loved it so much that I decided to run for secretary. While campaigning, and even before then, I met many new people, including someone who would later become my best friend. 

Toward the twilight of that year, I decided on an ambitious run for class president. I had to compete against students who were already deeply involved in student leadership. But going around and talking to my classmates gave me a deeper understanding of their experiences and the challenges they saw in our school, and what they wanted to see — like a homecoming dance! 

In the end, I won the election, but I gained far more than just an election victory. I went from feeling isolated and unmotivated to forming friendships with all kinds of students, driven by a genuine desire to make our class better, and waking up each day not knowing what the day would bring. Leadership, at its core, is taking a step when others might hesitate, so that others may not be so fearful of the next. You lift up the people around you by being an example of what is possible. 

If I hadn’t taken that first step my sophomore year, I wouldn’t be where I am today, and neither would some of my friends. That’s why it’s so important for students everywhere to take that step, to become leaders not just for the sake of others, but for themselves too. Leadership doesn’t only guide others toward brighter horizons, it brings you there. 

What is a Leader? 
You may be asking, how do you become a leader? The truthful answer to this question is that it’s difficult to answer due to the many avenues that exist. But I would say that the most surefire way to dip your toes into it is to get your peers involved in something and seek leadership roles. If you’re in National Honor Society or Student Leadership, see if some of your peers are interested in volunteering with you, and make that run for president! Perhaps you’re a member of another club or sports team; if so, be a motivating spirit for your teammates. Be someone who, if they were asked about you, they wouldn’t hesitate to describe your radiant uplifting energy! Being a leader is being someone who can help unlock the best in others, something integral to the development of young students today. 

Challenges of Leadership 
All of this is easier said than done, and there are frequent challenges being a leader amongst your peers. Whether you are a leader by title or by action, the stresses of leadership can take its toll. As a leader, you attend a large amount of events, interact with a variety of individuals, and have responsibilities that far exceed what you might expect at first. Frequent events and responsibilities can be overwhelming for many student leaders, and from firsthand experience, I have found myself drowning in a cascade of activities at times. 

A good habit to practice as a student leader is calendar keeping. It doesn’t have to be anything too fancy, but ensuring that you stay on top of your activities is essential to maintaining a healthy role as a leader. For me, I keep a detailed list of my activities in my notes app, with a calendar page dedicated to logging dates, times, and event descriptions. Others may find other tools useful, like Outlook calendars, Google calendars, or even physical notetaking devices.

The most important advice that I can relay to students aspiring to be leaders is to take it one step at a time. Far too many students bite off more than they can chew, so always remember that it is perfectly OK to provide limits for yourself. If you find yourself not having fun or thinking of leadership as a chore, you aren’t maintaining a healthy role as a leader. Because at the end of the day, leadership is something that is fun, something you should look back upon at the end of your high school career, reminisce on the friends you made, the impacts you had on others, and say, “I’ll never forget it.”