Personal Narrative: My Personal And Professional Goals

Fear and lack of confidence is something that everyone experiences, but facing it can create opportunities one would never imagine. I would have never thought this one year ago, and I even have to remind myself today that fear has become a strong motivator for myself. My lack of confidence in my abilities has helped me become the leader I am today.

Throughout high school I have struggled with confidence, but in various ways. Whenever I was a freshman I mostly struggled with body confidence like most young teens. I didn’t like the jiggle of my legs or the squish of my arms. I felt like didn’t look good in any of the clothes that were in style, or the new styles I was trying. When I was a sophomore I struggled with identity confidence. I didn’t

DECA is an amazing organization that has signified accomplishment and opportunity for me for three years now. At the beginning of this year when I joined DECA, I knew I wanted to be heavily involved in the organization, but I had a voice in the back of my head saying that someone else could do it better than me and I could never accomplish tasks that would be asked of me, and I held back. Becoming a leadership delegate for DECA district 11 and the state of Missouri is one of the greatest things that has come from pushing myself out of my comfort zone. Prior to applying and interviewing, I chose to try leadership delegate as a competitive event because I didn’t believe I was good enough to compete in a traditional event. I soon learned that being a leadership delegate would be a much more influential experience than I imagined. When I first walked into the room with the leadership delegates at state career development conference I was worried I would fall silent in the room of big personalities and loud ideas. I sat down at a table with people who had the same passion for leading and influencing other people that I have, and I realized the lack of confidence in my abilities comes from the absence of people in my life who openly express their passion for influencing. The day consisted of communication exercises, team building activities, as well as time to get to know each other. Throughout the entire day I became more and more comfortable with speaking up and building relationships with these other young leaders. This one event encouraged me to apply to be my high school’s chapter president, as well as run for vice president of district 11 next