The Qualities of a Natural Leader

In most people’s opinion, a natural leader is a person who can easily lead a group of people with the intelligence and time to organize and run that group well. I think that being a natural leader can be something that anyone can achieve, but the people who naturally have the ability to lead a group comfortably usually are pretty intelligent, want to spend their time on the group, and have a strong voice for what they believe is right. Sometimes I feel like a natural leader is someone who enjoys being around everyone, not just their selected “favorites”. An example of a natural leader versus a non-natural leader would be when I was on the high school swim team. We had two team captains two years ago and one of them was a perfect natural leader. She tried to get to know everyone as fast as she could, and helped out the freshmen who were unsure about something. She always seemed interested in what you were swimming at a meet, and had a good way of organizing the team contact info and our carpools that we took to practice every day. The other captain wasn’t a natural leader, she snapped at people when they asked a question and expected us to know everything without question. Soon, I found that a lot of the swimmers (including myself) went to the natural leader captain for questions, or just to talk, because she was welcoming to be around. I now find that anyone could be a natural leader by admiring and being around some of your peers who are natural leaders, maybe helping you to achieve a leadership role in the future.

My Favorite Childhood Story

Every night when I was a young child, my mom used to read my brother and me a story. There was always a specific one I wanted her to read, which were the “Little House on the Prairie” books by Laura Ingalls Wilder. I always thought the whole series in itself was really cool because Laura, the main character, actually wrote almost all the books herself. There are a lot of things I learned from this series. From all the books you learn how life was back in the 1800’s and how hard it was just to get food on the table some nights. I also learned the importance of family, and how lucky it is to have a loving family to be with on Christmas or during a winter storm. Laura herself demonstrated the life of an 1800’s girl, she was friendly and tricky and always wanted everyone to be happy. She wasn’t the cleanest girl, but was always treasuring her family and sisters. Her classmate Nellie represented a sort of bully, the girl who was rich and wanted all the attention on her. Laura sometimes mistreated Nellie, but always apologized in the end. Throughout the series, you experience the travels of the Ingalls family and the troubles they go through. I really loved this series, and they helped me better understand the life of a family in the 1800’s.

*The above image can be found at https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7BXEbGbVe0QoOihyphenhypheng1zoVW1KGwFhGFuQdUkfLpadIt8Uh6RhG7rJ11cOV37vVQXqqqRth7hD4Ap0UDrZHV2pfCyN6-XFis1JZrC667u0tA8sFcmT6UhsKyA8CMSrlNwWvZJpN9Z1gb-rB/s1600/wagon-train-mural.jpg

Technology: The big Distraction

In our world, technology is a big help. We use computers to write essays and surf the Internet. Cell phones are a big help when we need to call someone from a place where no other phone is. We use ipods and mp3 players to listen to music to make our workouts in the weight room less dull. But is this all for good? Cell phones are a big problem in school. They are used not only to call home because of forgotten homework, but also to inform parents about something that happened that day that could wait until after school gets out. Texting is a big issue in this way. Calling is ok, but now that we have texting, it is simply over used. You know students have it easy when they’re texting their friends in the classroom next door. In my opinion, it takes away from the learning of the student, especially when they aren’t punished by the teacher for texting during class. Other students get distracted too. To hear the clicking of keys on a phone during a lesson in class is one of the most annoying things I can think of. Another way cell phones are used in a bad way is that iphones have apps that students can use for calculators or to find definitions. During a test, I have seen kids struggle with a math problem on a test and used their phone for it even though the instructions stated “no calculators.” So to wrap things up, technology is a big help to us, but also takes us away from learning. Cell phones and other hand held devices would be so much more respected if students would just use them responsibly.