NAVIGATING THE LIFE OF A STUDENT LEADER

Serving people with utmost humility has always been my passion, it is one of the core things I embodied as a student leader for several years. Making an impact on people's lives and being remembered as someone who listened to them during the days when everything in their minds seemed so loud.

Hello there my lovely readers, it’s me again @stoicdeath. How have you been these past few days? Are you well? Or there may be many things going on at the moment. I hope you’ll get through it sooner.

I’ve been a student leader during my senior high school years, the journey may be a hard bumpy road since people will surely talk about you in some ways. I am fully aware that serving my co-students will require a big portion of my mental health. Surely, it consumed me, but it was a journey worth remembering and I wanted to pen it down.

The time I spend on my Senior High Year, I wanted to create a change in the student government. The whispers of the students are not being silenced and the cracks in their voices are being paid attention to. So, I created a safe space where they know vulnerability is okay and fine.

Together with my determined set of officers, during our term, we implemented and partnered with various organizations for projects.

First was the Moving Library, which partnered with the KKDAT Federation. It was a program created to help the students at Sangat Elementary School with their reading skills and basic mathematics. Watching the children form a smile while learning is worth all the hard work we have poured in. And to be part of their journey as they continue to learn along the way is overwhelming

One of the kids gave me a warm hug on our last day and extended her thank you “Ate salamat kayo sa pagtudlo nakog basa” It almost made me teared up but I held it back and answered her “welcome indae, balika ko puhon nig ma abot na nimo imo gina ingon nako na pangandoy nimo”.

During our sessions she was my “child” (that is what we referred to as the kid we were tutoring). Those little kids are full of hope they just need someone to hold their hand and so we did, to put a mark on their memory that someone will help them out and they will never be alone. I felt proud of myself and my officers, they’ve done a great job and I couldn’t be prouder. The moving library was a successful project.

We also had the same idea in one of our platforms the D.E.A.R PROJECT. We conducted this project and we partnered with the teachers in our school this time they also had a name for this one the BRIGADA PAGBASA.

Despite the very busy schedule we had during those days we always managed to give them time for every session. The fulfillment you feel knowing you imparted some of your knowledge to other students and they will always have this memory of you in their minds.

Henceforth, those two projects were a reminder that we can make life bearable for others for a short period and it will be a constant reminder to them that someone out there can give them time and effort wholeheartedly. We learned to be kind always in any way.

Being a student leader with a lot of things on your plate can make your mental health a wreck and it is true big role comes with big responsibilities. But with determination and eagerness to fulfill my duties and make the school year worthwhile have always been my top priority.

But the Student Leader journey has also been fun with a great set of officers who will also go the extra mile to create an inclusive environment where everyone can be themselves. They never made me feel that I was alone with every project, they pitched in ideas and were willing to make the narrative report (hahaha).

The next project we partnered with the goLead ph organization was the S.E.A.S project which is about cleaning the coastal area and planting mangroves in San Isidro San Fernando. We had multiple sessions of this as well.

This is also one of the best things about being a student leader you can use your platform to raise your voice to help the ecosystem or it could be anything that aligns with helping the world make it a better place.

It was a full mixed-emotion journey but I am very much thankful for all of it. It shaped me to who I am today. The cries and laughter of those times are the intangible proof of all the hard work we have rendered.

There are times when I doubted my capability to serve my co-students but our BKD adviser has been my/our confidant. She believed that we could do more, she lent her hand when we could no longer stand.To Miss Leslie Mae Elorde this one is also for you.

Being a Student Leader is my own choice I entered the world of the unknown at that time and I would gladly do it again. I have so many things yet to learn and I am eager to navigate it on my College Journey this time.

and that was the time I decided I wanted to dedicate my life to people...