What have I accomplished?

So, in my quest to go on Semester at Sea I'm working on all sorts of scholarships, and they all want me to divulge how awesome I am. What academic awards and achievements do I have, what Leadership examples do I have.

These are all fine questions and if I were going to give someone I didn't know money I would want to know these things too. Not only do I have to prove I am worthy, I have to prove I am more worthy than the 500+ other kids who want to be able to do this as well. This is tricky for me. I consider myself an able leader, and I have done somethings to refine my leadership abilities, but seriously? They say I can use two sheets of paper? Do they want me to explain all of my experience? They said list! Not a list of explanations, just a list.

And then there are the experiences that just sort of happen. Like when I was hiking up a mountain in five feet of snow and the teacher who was supposed to walk with the slow kids in the back was walking in the front. Gradually I noticed that these two girls were getting farther and farther behind, one was a girl from China who spoke hardly any English and the only snow and mountain she had ever experienced was man-made and in a building. The other girl was perfectly capable of hiking up the mountain, she did motorcross, still does, but for whatever reason she wasn't.

I stayed back and I got them up the mountain, we were part of the first group to leave and the last to make it to the top, no one waited for us. Half-way up the mountain the motor-cross girl started feeling faint and almost fell down. I  told them the little tank engine that could story. I got them up the freaking mountain. They even deigned to have their picture taken with me. But is that something that I can put as leadership experience? Not without a really long explanation.

There was another time that only one girl in the class wasn't invited to a halloween party (this was in 7th grade) and so I told the host that I wouldn't come if she wasn't invited. She got invited. The host asked when she was going to leave the entire time, but it was better than if she wasn't invited. (She was also having a party that everyone was invited to and no one was going to...) But again, that was in 7th grade, and it's not like I was hired to be a mediator of any kind.

Ok, this blog post has turned into a big personal brag fest, but Still. There was also the time my rooom mate had an Anxiety Attack, while she was in her boyfriend's room. No one knew what to do so they came into my room and woke me up. I took care of her and I managed all the people who wanted to stand around and watch. I also called the Resident Life Managers and talked to the paramedics. I'd say that was leadership. Should I include that explanation?

Academic Honors, that one is tough because my school didn't award prizes and things for being awesome. I did take all the highest level courses and what not, but there were no Honor's classes, or IB, or AP, or whatever other acronyms there are for more notable high school classes.

I mean, it's not like I slacked off.

I studied all the time

Heck, I over credited my first two quarters of college, and got all A's and a B+

Well this is sort of like novelling.

I am trying to write, this is not usually an issue for me. But the last few days it has been, I don't know what's gotten into me. I usually write at the coffee shop, with coffee (Obviously), but since that didn't work last time (and I am feeling incredibly lazy today) I have stayed at home and am trying to work. I made myself chocolate milk for something to drink but I finished my milk before I had had even worked up the motivation to open my word document. I have managed 643 words in the last hour. I guess that is an ok amount, but they have all been forced. I want to be immersed in my story. You know what I am talking about? When you don't see your computer screen anymore, you just see what you are writing and you can feel what your characters are feeling. It's more like you are watching the story unfold than unfolding the story. That's what I want now. Sometimes it is nice to pick apart the story connect dots that don't seem like they could be connected, but not this time. I want this one time to be effortless.

Ok, new subject. I have applied to Semester at Sea. I really really want to go on the Spring 2015 voyage. It would be an amazing, challenging, ridiculous, impossible adventure. Mainly it may end up being impossible because there is no way that I can earn the money required to go on that trip. So, if I get in, I am applying for the Presidential Scholarship. I have gotten the advice from a couple people that I need to be very specific and detailed in how to carry out my plan. My goal is to collect The Most Important Stories of the World. I want to go to people at every port and talk to them, and get them to tell me what they think the most important story is. That is specific as I am going to make it, the story could be about their own lives, their communities life, it could be a legend, or a fairytale, it could be a religious story. Anything. The challenging part of this project is 1) The whole language barrier, I can't expect everyone I meet to speak English. 2) Getting myself to walk up to someone and getting them share with me something as personal as their most important story. 3) This bit is the least difficult for me, but, compiling all the stories, keeping them organized. I would like to write about my experience gathering the story each time as well.

Alright and my last topic. I work at a To-Shin Do dojo, my job title is Office Ninja, I'm not even joking. But To-Shin Do is about more than just the physical self-protection aspect of martial arts. That is a huge part of it, obviously, but it's also about protecting your self from yourself. For example, not beating yourself up about mistakes you make. Allowing that they happened, recognizing that it was your fault, determining how to avoid it in the future, and moving on. This self from self protection also comes in with the people you associate with. (Everyone I associate with is awesome so I don't have as much to worry about here) But if you are with people who make you feel bad about yourself all the time, then change that situation. You should be an environment where you feel comfortable feeling happy. For me the most challenging bit of this is opening myself up to people enough so that I feel like I know them, and they know me. For a long time while I was here I didn't really know anyone and no one made any particular moves to make sure they knew me. They all had lives here already, I was new and didn't know anyone. Now after two months I am enough part of their lives that I have began giving out my number and have been invited to different activities to do outside the dojo. So that's fun.

This whole blog post is basically just procrastination from writing, I think I'll be getting back to that now.