Leadership is not just for high positions. It doesn’t have to be about a specific amount of people doing extraordinary deeds. Leadership lies within all of us, depending on how we allow ourselves to be held. The way you decide to handle a situation shapes the way the event turns out. You are in control of the outcome. Anyone can be a leader, even when you don’t even realize it. The speaker of the TedTalk, Drew Dudley, calls these everyday acts of leadership “lollipop moments” as he goes through his own example of making a change in another person’s life. This example is a great way of showing how common it really is, and how easy it is to accomplish. I have had my fair share of “lollipop moments”, both giving and receiving. The one I can remember the most vividly happening to me has to be when I was just starting my first year of high school in a charter school in Austin. I still had my thicker accent at that time, and had a hard time understanding people if they talked to fast. I was sitting alone in the back f the class waiting for everyone else to arrive when the teacher had started to ask me a bunch of questions I just could not keep track of regarding how far I had been in my old school.
I don’t know how, but another student happened to be walking by and noticed my hidden distress. The boy, who I still don’t know, came up to the teacher from outside the classroom and told her to slow down before turning to me and asking me if it was my first day. After I answered, he smiled, ruffled my hair, and walked out once he was sure I was going to be alright. This boy I never got the chance to know, for reasons unbeknownst to me, managed to encourage me to do a lot better with my English interaction and got me to the point I am today with no accent around my non-family and no problem with English. Everyday leadership may seem small, but it has a great effect on the lives around us. According to Insperity.com. “people plant roots where they feel appreciated” (Raymond, n.d.). Empathy and kindness tend to change lives. If I didn’t have that moment with the boy, yes, I would have gotten used to English eventually, but I would have never strived and pushed myself to do so well. The actions we take in response to the things around us are worth so much, why not use them to benefit others? I don’t mean to brag, but I have had a few people tell me how I changed their lives with the way I react to situations. I may not seem like the brightest person, but I try my hardest to make everyone around me happy and laugh because you never know what they might be going through outside of your sight.
One of the people I always seem to recall is my best friend from public high school, Teryn. We have been friends for around 4 years now, and not too long ago while we were sitting on my couch watching Brave, she turned to me suddenly. She had said to me, “Dennie, I don’t know if I ever told you, but you are the only reason I got through high school.” I was shocked, of course, due to the sudden burst of words from the usually silent girl. I had been the reason? When I asked her to elaborate, she told me that my positive outlook on everything and constant support and enthusiasm were the things that kept her going. If I could get through life with all my demons and monsters in the closet, she sure as heck could too. Leadership doesn’t have to be as hard as we’re all trying to make it out to be. Leadership starts at home, with each of us. It doesn’t even take much, you just have to be willing to make your move in life. Don’t be a bystander, be the thing other people want to go to. There’s no need in being an audience member when you have the potential to be a star all on your own accord.
