It was a cold,
winter day... or was it autumn. I don't remember. Amidst the conversations
within the student council room, Mrs. Becker, I believe, walked up to the front
of the classroom to give us an announcement. As we sat there listening, she
told us that Student Council will go on a leadership retreat at Disneyland. At
that moment, the class went into jubilee as feelings of excitement filled the
room. Sitting in my chair, I was shocked. Never had this happened in all my
years being in student council. To put it simply, I was excited. I began to
count the days until the day we would leave for Disneyland.
Now, fast-forwarding towards the day
we would leave, all of us, one by one, assembled in Bellingham International
Airport. As everyone socialized amongst each other, pure excitement became the
word to describe everyone's faces. I was no exception. I knew that I would
partake on adventure full of joy.
Throughout the
plane ride, I had a conversation with
one of my close friends. This friend in particular had been my friend ever
since I joined student council back when I was such a shy person and, in my
opinion, she helped me break out of my shell that I was trapped in. As we were
talking, I began to realize that I stopped being awkward around people most of
the time. Until that moment, I didn't know how natural it was to interact with
others. I would just usually keep to myself. However, I realized that I am able
to start friendships with others, like any other person, thus giving me
confidence to be the person I am today. That was the first realization that I
had as a result of this trip; the first of many. Then, after our flights, we
landed in Los Angeles. Our trip had finally commenced.
The next day, we
walked to Disneyland for our first leadership seminar. Excited for what was in
store for us, I ran towards the land of dreams; the happiest place on Earth.
Then, as our first seminar began, I wondered what I would learn that day.
There, we met with our leader and we went through our first leadership training session.
At the time, I
learned the usual stuff, such as “What makes a good leader?” and things like
that. Though I felt as I have heard that kind of stuff before, I still had the
will to learn more. That was when I learned about Walt Disney and what made him
a good leader. Walt Disney is a person who started out as an animator, but he
ended up being much more. Though there were many good qualities about him,
there was one thing that stood out to me the most. I learned how he had to
adapt in many situations, a really good quality of an effective leader. As the person
explained, that was when I learned just how leader-like he was. Before, I
didn't think much about him, but now, I see him as a role model; someone whose
values are those I want to emulate. Right then and there, I realized what it
takes to be a good leader, one that would be a positive influence at the
school.
The next day was
our next training seminar. Trying to keep the events of the day before out of
my head, we walked into California Adventure, the park right beside Disneyland.
Over there, there were many things that had happened, but the one that stood
out for me was when we had to balance frisbees on our heads as we walked
through something like an obstacle course. While doing this, I thought that if
I walked fast, then there would be less time to complete it, therefore, less
chances to fall. That was something that was completely wrong. Speeding through
the course, I noticed that I kept on falling down, along with my frisbee.
Though I didn't think of it at the time, while writing this, I realized
something.
Life isn't
something that you can speed through, nor is it something that you can speed
through. I thought I could do it quickly, but that didn't work out whatsoever.
When relating this to my life, I could say that, during many sad moments
throughout my life, such as the death of my father, I thought that it would all
work out simply. However, it doesn't always go as planned and that one would
have to accept any obstacles that would happen. I thought that it would all go
quickly, so that many of these sad moments wouldn't hurt me. However, life
doesn't speed up for you, nor is it something which you can speed up yourself.
After looking back on those kinds of moments, I learned that life is complex
and you have to go through it slowly, facing any obstacles in the way.
Then, later, we
went on Soaring Over California, a ride that's meant to mimic the feeling of
flying, while images of California showed up on the screen. As I sat down, when
we were lifted in the air, I felt as if I was weightless and free. After a
while, as the images were displayed on the screen, the chairs began to move as
if we were really soaring over California, over a vast landscape that seemed
endless. As I reflect on that particular moment, I realized that Soaring Over California
is also analogous to life. It is something where you can be free as you go
through many places throughout your entire life. This was when I realized
something that changed my views on life.
I realized that
there are many obstacles in life. After all, life is complex. You would have to
face obstacles eventually and you would eventually have to find a way to get
past them. Despite all of that, I also realized that life is a vast landscape.
Keeping that in mind, I learned that even though I would face many obstacles,
life is endless and it is yours for the making. Of course, one would have to
adapt in order to get through the obstacles, and that is something that I'm in
the process of going through. Despite that, when the time comes where I would move
on from all those undesirable feelings, I can finally move on and choose my
path in life, because though life is extremely hard to navigate through, it is
a blank canvas, free for you to paint all over.
Now, as I am
writing this composition, I have come to learn that this trip had changed my
life entirely. In the past, I was a person who always kept to himself, and as
well, someone who thought that life is easy to navigate through, believing that
everything would work in my favour, while at the same time, wanted to be a
great leader. However, upon reflecting on the experiences that I had gone
through in Disneyland, I have learned many things.
1. I learned just how complex life is and what obstacles I would
have to face in order to live out my life.
2. I learned just how much I had changed, starting out as a shy
eighth-grader who always kept to himself to a person who is starting to become
more confident with his peers, someone who is breaking out of their shell.
3. I learned how to be a great leader too, learning from Walt
Disney's example in order to learn just what it takes to be an effective
leader, especially the ability to adapt.
I came to this trip
to learn what it takes to be a good leader, but something else took place as
well. I learned so many things that slowly changed my outlook on life. As all
of these perceptions changed during those four days, I have come to realize
just one more thing...
Disneyland truly is
a magical place. I expected that by joining Student Council, I would only help
out with the school, something that I enjoyed doing. However, after this trip,
I became astounded at how my life changed in a way that I would never expect. I
have learned so many things as a result of this trip and it will forever be an
adventure I would cherish. Disneyland is not just the land of dreams or the
happiest place on Earth. It is a place where people's lives change for the
better.
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