Earlier in my life, I’ve always thought that leadership is only for those people who are popular and charismatic as to what the society used to reflect way back in elementary and high school days in which this stereotyping is also seen in our society at large. I thought of leaders as the sole Big Bosses who shall always be followed by everybody, whose words are never to be weaved and directions are always to be followed. So as I went on with life, I have always given this people with so much reverence and respect the way they deserve it.
Experiences have taught me that the stereotyping that I’ve always believed with for the longest time is not the whole truth about leadership and leaders but rather just a fraction of what I know it is about, some of which I have also proven myself wrong. True that leadership is a prestige that one receives one you had the chance to become a leader but what most people aren’t able to realize is that it also entails responsibilities that are most of the time; weigh far more than the prestige. I’ve also had the chance of meeting different kinds of leaders which would also include those who only takes all the prestige and not the responsibilities in which I can regard to as very immature and irresponsible but they gave me the strong sense to myself to be determined not to become like them.
Because of the irresponsibility of some of the leaders, be it governing a small group of people or a huge society, their constituents tends to lose their trust in them and the sad part is that the upcoming leaders are also affected, thus chaos arises. “Nobody’s perfect” as the cliché goes as it can be applied to every one but we humans, so as leaders, can correct them and learn from them to avoid them from occurring in the future. Taking the responsibility doesn’t only give me a challenge in this chapter of my life but also a chance to serve others. A heart for giving unceasing service to others especially to this who are in need is what I can be proud to say to the whole world that I have in me that (has been cultivated with dedication and commitment through years in my life) gives me the capability to take hold of the responsibility ahead. Nights before the campaign, I had been thinking what I could say to people when I would be facing a question regarding my qualifications to take the position if I ever won and having the previous stereotyping of leaders and low self-confidence in myself, I felt like drawing from the battle. I’m not scholastically inclined, not that popular among the crowd, I thought to myself I don’t deserved it and I even got to the brink of turning back but as I was to make up my mind to do so, I realized to myself that a true leader cannot only be measured by the number of people they know or by the academic awards they had or what other superficial things that most of people nowadays would be looking for in a leader but rather a leader can be measured with sense of responsibility, commitment and their willingness to offer themselves to others unselfishly. And as for me, the commitment and service that I wanted to give to others has given me the courage to go and carry on. So far so good, I was able to receive backstabbing and disputes even at the beginning of the election. At first I was hurt but I know that it’s also a part of the whole thing and I ‘m glad that instead of them making me feel low and discouraged, it further strengthened me to go on with my journey and I can steadfastly only promised them that I will prove them wrong by giving only the best in everything that I do so just bring it on!
One of the things I believe is that leadership is rooted in every being. We must always remember that we are all leaders in our own simple ways. You don’t need a crowd to govern or a prestigious title to be able to become one because the mere fact that one person is being able to lead himself is already a true leader in his own way.
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