Leadership to me is not just leading a group, or being a prefect or being a class chairperson. Leadership is about putting your team members in front of your well-being, being able to care for myself as well as for my team members. It is about working independently. It is about taking risks.
I personally feel that I showed the most amount of leadership during the International Turkish Olympiad, which was held in Turkey during the June school holidays. Here my team, consisting of two teachers, two pupils and myself, competed with youth from all walks of life, ranging over different skin colours competing in different competitions- poetry recital, singing, dance, etc. For many, the highlights of this once in a life time opportunity are the many new friends they were going to meet there and the grand finale . For me however, the highlight was the fact I had to stay away from home for 18 days in a foreign land. This meant that I had to foster for my own needs and at the same time to help my team mates when they are in difficulty.
I know I have shown some amount of leadership during this trip. One, would be having the courage to stand in front of a huge crowd of strangers, with limited Turkish knowledge, to present my poem, which was practiced for a mere 2 months, as compared to the many years the other competitors had spent training.
In a trip, there inevitably will be some kind of dispute between team members. Likewise, two of my group members had several problems and it was not uncommon for them to suddenly break into a fight over the smallest of matters. I was the one caught in the middle of the fights. However, I remained calm, despite my short-temper, so as not to create more problems as this would cause the team to crumble. Being the third-person, I was able to see both sides of the situation. Thus, I explained to both of them and made them recognise the other's point of view.
Taking risks is something that a leader does. Risks need not mean...