Things you can learn as a Student-Leader

Being a student-leader will absolutely give you a hard time. There are a lot of things that you need to sacrifice, a lot of efforts to make and a lot of time to give. Minsan dadating ka sa point at tatanungin mo ang sarili mo, bakit kumuha ka ng batong ipupukpok mo sa ulo mo? But trust me when I say that it is one of the most fulfilling roles in school that you may ever experience.  It is something that you will be thankful for once you step out the school.

Below are the lists of things that “I think” you may learn from being a student leader: 

1. Professionalism

When you are in a school organization you cannot avoid conflicts because every individual have different point of views and beliefs. Being a student-leader is a great flat form to learn how you can set aside your emotions and ego while working with the person you’re in conflict with. Kahit na asar na asar ka pa sa kanya at gusto mo na siyang sipain palabas ng office ninyo or ihagis mula sa pinaka mataas na building, being a student-leader, you let it subside and focus on the things that is much more important than your emotions and ego. Being professional really matters when you are in a student-organization while working hand in hand with someone to achieve a common goal and that is to serve the studentry.

2. Time Management

“Busy ako.” I think gasgas na gasgas na ata yung linyang yan sa tuwing inaaya ako ng mga kaibigan ko para gumala. And that is the sad part of being a student-leader dahil madalas kalaban mo ang oras.

If you are a student-leader, there will be a lot of moments when you will have tons of tons of tons of loads in school and piles of things to do in your organization and surely 100% it will exhaust you. Deadlines over deadlines over deadlines will surely make your brain jump out of your brain. Hindi sa nagiging OA ako pero it’s true. Sa sobrang dami ng ginagaw mo, dadating ka sa point wherein you will ask yourself a lot of whys and hows. You will even wish na sana hindi lang 24 hours ang meron sa isang araw sa dami ng ginagawa mo.

But as student-leader dapat alam mo kung paano imamanage ang oras mo. Proper time management is something that a student-leader must know by heart because it can help you figure out what comes first.

BUT as a student leader, you should not forget that that you are a STUDENT-Leader. And so, before you play the role of a leader you must perfectly played the role of a student. Serving the whole studentry is a good thing but you have to be reminded the real reason why you are in school. And so, prioritizing your academics before duties as an officer in an organization is a must.  It may seem to be impossible to balance everything but you’ll get used to it.

3. Dedication

Kung akala ng iba madali ang buhay ng isang student-leader, pwes, nag kakamali kayo. As a student-leader, things are not being handed in a silver platter dahil lahat ng bagay pinag hihirapan. There times that you will have sleepless night dahil nag iisip ka ng kung ano ang dapat mong gawin para sa mga kapwa estudyante mo. There will also be a lot of times that you may give up your free time, lunch time and weekends just to fulfill your duties and responsibilities as an officer. Honestly, this may be one of the saddest realities in the life of a student leader because you will surely lose your time for yourself and friends. But that is the life of an officer and you really have no choice because as a student-leader. It will not just require you to be responsible but also to be dedicated. But when you accomplish all the things on your hand and you see your fellow student benefit sa mga bagay na ginawa mo for sure you will feel contentment. Yung pakiramdam na nanalo ka sa isang championship game.

4. Patience

Things will never come easy. There will be moments where you need wait, wait, and wait. There are times when you will to go through the talks with the same topics over and over that can even drive you crazy.

Being a student-leader will surely test your patience.  

5. Composure and Confidence

A student-leader never loses its composure especially during heated argument and even during times when they figuratively throwing daggers on you. Putting a façade of confidence and composure is something that a student-leader must always do because you’re representing not just yourself but you are representing the whole studentry. Hindi dahil sa mayabang ka but you need to be able to stand on your ground so you can prove your point. Being a student-leader, you will always be caught up in a situation wherein people will try to persuade you to a certain decision.  But a student-leader you have to know between doing what is right and the right thing.  

6. Stepping beyond your limits

There will be times when you will hit the ground and don’t know what to do next. There times when people point out your faults without even knowing the reason behind it. There are times when people expect you to be perfect and do everything right even though just a student and most especially a human being. There are times when people think you are superwoman and expect you do even the impossible things. And because of that, you will start to feel like you wanted to drop everything thing and leave. But being a student-leader, it should never be your mind set and giving up should never an option because you are a student-leader.

When things start to get tough and rough, you need to find ways to get free from the things that making it hard. As a student-leader, you can’t just settle for anything less. You can’t just live inside your comfort zone and let the universe to do its thing. You should always have control in everything that is happening to you and around you. Everything must flow according to how you want it to be. As a student-leader you should see things differently, be resilient enough to face failure, accept your limitation and faults, and think beyond what your mind can even imagine. You should know when to step on the gas and be the person that people will look up to because that is how you are made.

It is not really an easy feat to be a student-leader. Stepping beyond the line of being a student to be leader can be hard, emotionally draining and mind blowing. You will reach to a point wherein you will crawl and cry but you have to remind yourself that you are not perfect, you cannot do everything, and you will fail and makes mistake because you are just a student, a normal teenage girl or boy. But what makes you amazing and different is that you are that ‘someone’ who wanted to make a difference. You are that someone who took the courage to stand up and lead.  And you are that ‘someone’ who has tenacity and resiliency to face all the responsibility.  

Well, these are only the few things you can learn when you chose to me a true student-leader. Along the way, there are a lot more things that you can learn about yourself and about life. And believe me, those learning are something that you can carry with you as a weapon once you step out the school ground and enter the concrete jungle of corporate world.