Leadership is the ability to act as a catalyst for people to work together towards a common goal. A good leader must possess a combination of many varying qualities. First, and perhaps most importantly, one must have the desire and initiative to want to make changes and to make things happen. It is necessary to be able to accurately assess a given situation and have the foresight of what could, or should, be done. The ability to communicate this vision is vital. In order to be most effective, one needs to be credible and knowledgeable, with a strong belief in ones own ideas and self, while at the same time listening to others input and taking their ideas into consideration. Perseverance and adaptability are imperative traits to have, necessary to overcome obstacles that are inevitable. A true leader is someone whom, by his/her personal example, compels and motivates others to action. .
I feel I possess many leadership qualities. I have grown up with a family that always stressed the importance of being involved, standing up for what is right, helping those less fortunate, and being a socially responsible person. I have always been curious about things, and first to ask "Why?" or "Why not?". After confrontation with a situation, I am not afraid to use my abilities and resources to change things for the better. One example of this took place a year and a half ago, during my sophomore year. My wrestling coach, my teacher, my mentor was butting heads with the administration. He had been lied to and manipulated to the point that he was turning in his resignation. A large portion of my fellow student body was saddened by this news. For many of us, he was the best part of school. For several days we moped around, complaining that the school board needed to try to cooperate with him. I then decided to do something about it. The only way to stop this from happening was to show the school board just how much we, the student body, wanted him to stay; therefore I took it upon myself to start a petition.
