“Man, I’m too tired to do this again,” Alex said to me regretfully. She and I are the two Executive Board officers for the student organization, Colleges Against Cancer, on campus. The difference between her and I is that she is the Club President. “I would stay if it didn’t mean so much work.”
“Wait, so what does that mean? You’re leaving me on the Board?” I replied, completely taken aback. I’ve only been a member of this club for two years, but she’s been here for nearly three. She definitely knows the ropes more on how to keep this club going strong.
“I’ll still be in the club, but I just want to have a smaller position this time,” Alex explained.
This conversation happened in April. With the end of the school year coming to a close, many student organizations on campus are beginning to make that transition to next year’s officers and members. I just so happened to be experiencing this first hand. Since that conversation with Alex in April, I have been conflicted with what leadership role I envision myself holding in the club next year, but more specifically questioning my capabilities of serving as a Club President. My own mentality is my biggest enemy. Accepting this position was a hard pill to swallow.
Why am I afraid that it will be difficult for me to bring success to the club? I thought this to myself. What if no one wants to even join next year? I’ll be as lonely as a cloud!
The whole goal of our club is to plan and hold an annual event called Relay For Life on the UC Davis campus in which all profits go directly towards the American Cancer Society. Under our current President’s term this year, Colleges Against Cancer was recognized by hospitals, newspapers, and received two awards for our efforts. These were all notable recognition to receive in just one year, and I feel the pressure more than ever to continue this momentum into the upcoming year.
Will I even be cut out for the workload? It’s your senior year. Be realistic, Michelle.
Because I will be a fourth-year student next year, I need to focus on finishing strong academically, applying to nursing school, and cherishing my last year as an undergraduate. Serving on the Executive Board this year taught me that the workload hours as an officer is 4-5 hours a week. This meant that the Club President position would translate into many more hours. I could already feel the stress and anxiety choking me.
Time is quickly passing and the school year is over in just a few weeks. If I was going to make a decision, it needed to be now or never. I take a step back and consider the bigger picture. My insecurities were rooted within me, so I sought the input of my fellow officers and general club members.
“Anything you need, I will be here for you,” Alex says as she consoles me. “You have a whole team with you and you’re not going to be alone.”
After receiving the reassurance I needed, I came back to recollect with myself once more. I reminded myself of the reason why I joined this club in the first place. My passion for the club’s mission, my desire to honor those affected by this disease, and our efforts to raise money for the American Cancer Society triumphs a lot of my doubts.
I decided that I am going to remain on the Executive Board and serve as next year’s President. I know that I will not be alone in this entire process, and my confidence grows more and more in my capabilities.
Today, I am currently in the process of holding interviews for open positions on the Board and for general club members. Through this experience, I learned that fear and anxiety is both inevitable and acceptable, but it should not triumph your decision to assert bravery.
Reflection
Overall, I did a lot of editing to my bravery story format-wise. My original draft focused too much on what the story is about, as opposed to telling the story itself. I think I had a hard time realizing this the first time around because I grew accustomed to writing reflections. To help fix this, I added in dialogue, spacing between paragraphs, and a more active word choice.
At the beginning of the story, I convey my attitude about becoming Club President through the thoughts I inserted, like “Why am I afraid that it will be difficult for me to bring success to the club?” or “Will I even be cut out for the workload?”. Instead of just stating how I felt, I hoped that including these thoughts would convey my uncertainty more effectively. I also included personification (“I could already feel the stress and anxiety choking me” and a metaphor (“Accepting this position was a hard pill to swallow”) to emphasize how conflicted I felt. Towards the falling action and resolution, there is a tone shift. The sentence, “My confidence grows more and more in my capabilities,” shows my tone change to an optimistic attitude. Adding these literary devices adds to the narrative, or story-telling aspect, of this assignment. It made me think more about my attitudes towards the subject and also helps the audience understand the story a little better.
Michelle Galat's UWP101 blog 