Why Not Me?!

            Coming from a relatively small town in Northern Arizona, it seems as if nobody cares, or even knows, about us.  It seems as if we are insignificant compared to the major cities in Arizona.  This is the mindset that I regretfully found myself having for as long as I can remember.  I often found myself not doing something and missing out on a great opportunity just because I thought that everyone else had a much better chance than I did, so why even try? 

            One day, in August I believe, I was sitting in my college readiness class, preparing my supplies for the day.  Mrs. Caffey was reading the announcements of new scholarships to the class and when she came across the Arizona Milk Producer’s Scholarship everyone let out a chuckle, including myself.  She read off that all we had to do to enter this scholarship was to submit a picture of our self with a milk mustache and some sort of dairy product.  Pretty simple, right?  Mrs. Caffey then announced that any student who wishes to enroll next fall in an Arizona university could apply.  Then, I immediately counted myself out.  Thousands of people would apply for this, and, with my past luck, there is no way that I would even have a chance of being considered for this scholarship!

            But, Mrs. Caffey, being the hopeful optimist that she is, urged our class to apply.  In fact, she did more than simply urge us; she required us to apply.  I assume that she saw all of us give her the “why do we have to apply if there is no possible way that we will when” look, because she then went on to say three of the most inspiring words, which I will never forget, “Why not you?”

            With her words as motivation, I came up with an idea for my picture, made it happen, and got it submitted for the first round of drawings.  I was pretty confident in my picture, but still, in the back of my head, I had myself convinced that I had no shot of winning the scholarship.  A couple weeks passed since I first submitted my photo, and I received a letter in the mail from the Arizona Milk Producer’s.  This was notifying me that I was one in thirty-six semi-finalists for the scholarship!  This gave me an inkling of hope, but I knew that there were still several weeks left for people to submit incredible photos.  A few months later, I received another letter.  I ripped the envelope open, and the first thing I saw, in bolded letters was, “1 in 15 finalists”. Without hesitation, I ran, actually more like skipped, to the kitchen, yelling and screaming, to share the incredible news with my mom.  We were both in utter disbelief!  Not only had one girl from Holbrook been selected as the top fifteen, but two!  I was soon to be informed that Samantha Smith had also been selected! Wow, we had already defied so many odds set against us! Before I knew it, we were at the Fiesta Bowl, sitting seven rows up from the field!

On the field at the Fiest Bowl!
Why not you?!

            On January 3, 2013, I made my way around the stadium, down the escalators, through the tunnel, and onto the thirty yard line at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.  There, in front of the 65,000 people who attended the 2013 Fiesta Bowl, it was announced, that out of thousands of applicants, I had been selected as the first place recipient of the Arizona Milk Producer’s Scholarship!  My mind and body were overwhelmed with shock, excitement, and awe.  65,000 strangers cheered for me as I was presented with an oversized check written in the amount of $12,000!   In that moment, I realized that I was no longer insignificant.  Holbrook was no longer insignificant.  In fact, the size of the town you come from, or the amount of people that go to your school are what are insignificant.  If at first you doubt that you will ever have the slightest chance of being able to accomplish something due to the fact that you come from a place with less opportunity than others, reconsider, and instead think, “why not me?!” and do it anyway!

Love always,

Kylie K.      

Lead Yourself Before Others

HHS World Leaders

The past three days I had the opportunity to participate in the 2013 Arizona Association of Student Councils State Convention!  I attended this convention last year as well, so I went into the weekend feeling fairly prepared for what I was about to experience.  Over twenty hours of wild, passionate, confident, dedicated, free-spirited student leaders!  Wow!  Pretty cool right?  “Cool” cannot even be used to describe this convention.  “Inspiring” would be the correct term. 

Heading through the gates of Campo Verde High School, I walked behind the rest of my council, eager to see the faces of the “new-time state-goers” as they see the carnival filled with bouncy houses, games, and slides, as well as the 1700 student council members dressed in outrageous costumes.  We marched proudly through those barred gates wearing homemade packman costumes and instantaneously, all of our insecurities and fears vanished.  This was because we knew that no one cared.  No one cared that we were in crazy costumes (which were actually pretty cool).  No one cared if we screamed and yelled at the top of our lungs.  And no one cared if we danced like fools.  Why?  Because everyone else was too!  Student Council is a place to be who you are and know that you will not be judged!  Seriously, there was a guy in a giraffe costume!  But that’s ok at studco! 

Yes, state convention is a blast and there is an overwhelming amount of energy and excitement, but there are also moments where you are forced to think.  You are forced to think about who you are as a leader and as a person in general.  During one of the presenter’s speech, I heard something that I was drawn to and stuck with me.  He said, “To be a good leader, you have to lead yourself before you lead others.”  Now, at first I was just kind of thinking to myself, “Yeah, I guess that’s true.”  But as the speech went on, I thought deeper into this statement, and realized just how true it is.  Today, we are witnesses of leaders at all different levels who are sometimes hypocritical.  They preach one thing, but then their actions do not match their words.  What a shame.  What the world needs is genuine leaders.  Leaders who will not only lead others down the right path, but actively be walking down that same path themselves.

The very last speaker at convention was the mayor of Glendale.  In his closing remarks, he mentioned that prior to coming to speak to us he was speaking to fifty world leaders at a conference.  He informed us that as he left them he said, “I am sorry to have to leave you fifty world leaders, but I now have to go speak to 1700 other world leaders!”  Those 1700 world leaders were us sitting in the gymnasium singing, dancing, and being ourselves!  That was the motivation that I needed to try my hardest and be the best possible leader that I can be.  For the sake of my school, my peers, and my world!

Being a leader is not always easy, and being a “good” leader is even more difficult.  We are faced with challenges that some people would succumb to and give up.  Acting as you preach and leading yourself first are sometimes the hardest things to do.  But, as leaders, we overcome and create something beautiful from our challenge.  We take the challenge and do it anyway!      

 

Love Always,

 

Kylie K. <3  

                  

Do it Anyway

 “You can spend your whole life building, something from nothing.  One storm can come and blow it all away… do it anyway!” – Martina McBride

In the midst of hardship or struggles, I often find myself thinking, “Why am I even doing this?”  Or the all-too-famous, “Is this even worth it?”  Well, I am not sure if I know the answer to these questions that infiltrate my thoughts.  It seems as if many times when we work so hard on something, it is not appreciated, respected, or even acknowledged.  But, do we do things to get recognition?  Or do we do things because we know in our hearts that it is the right thing to do?

                This is a question that I have battled with for most of my teenage years.  When you are young, there are no pressures to “fit in” or “do what everyone else is doing”.  As I grew, and the pressures of society, and life in general, became stronger, I had to look deep into myself and decide how I was going to handle these oncoming pressures.  Would I cave and succumb to the pressures of my peers?  Or would I stay true to who I am and what I knew was right, simply because it was? 

                In staying true to myself and my beliefs, I knew that I was subjecting myself to some ridicule.  I am not the kid who goes out and parties on the weekends.   I am not the kid who is ok with getting a “B” in a class.  And I am definitely not the kid who will do something that I do not feel comfortable doing.  It is because of this that I was defined as the “goody-good”.  Although I am now a proud owner of this title, I haven’t always been.  I remember times when I questioned if I was missing out on life and my high school years because I was so afraid of doing something wrong or shameful.  But now that I am at the brink of my years as a “child”, I can realize the blessing that I gave to myself by staying true to who I am.  I can now proudly say that I tried to be the best person that I could be! 

                I use the word “tried” for a very specific reason.  Not one person on this earth can say that they are perfect or have acted perfectly.  Obviously I have screwed up a time or two and have been directed off course.  But, that is so insignificant in the scheme of life.  I have chosen the title “Do it Anyway” for my blog because whatever way in which you choose to live your life, do it with your whole heart.  There will, without a doubt, be people who will do everything in their power to change you, but stay true to you and do it anyway!

Love Always,

Kylie K. <3