I Cried 😭 at Leadership Camp. Student Leadership Saved my life

🏆WINNERS MINDSET = growth mindset + resourcefulness+ Ganas

🥇We did it! Student Leadership Playbook #1 on Amazon

#1 New Best Seller. #4 in youth books. #24 MOTIVATION all ages. #29 youth friendships

😭😭😭 I walked into my college advisors office at my very first student leadership camp. She asked me what college I was going to apply to. I gave her a list of 5-7 of the most prestigious schools in the country.

🎓She took a look and told me that she thinks that I have a very good chance of getting in to one of the schools.

😔She then told me that she suggest that I not attend if accepted. She suggested I take a 5th year of high school to prepare me for the rigor of a top university. The writing instructor of the camp had told her I was the worst writer of the entire camp. She told me that because of where I was from, I probably went to a school that was just not good enough.

😭 That evening I went back to my dorm room in tears. I could not sleep. I prayed and asked God why he would have me go to a camp where I often felt like the “dumb jock”. I had never felt that way at my high school, but at this leadership camp I felt inadequate.

😱A few days later and we had to turn in another paper on another leadership topic. I had worked hard on a paper, but had not finished early enough to review it over and over to take out mistakes. When our advisor asked for the papers I looked down at my backpack and kept it. I was afraid to turn in the worst paper again. The day goes on and our writing instructor comes to the room and does a final call for the papers. He had never done this before and I stayed looking down. The student next to me opens his bag and pulls out his paper. I gather the courage and pull mine out and turn it in with feelings of FEAR AND SHAME. ♟

Days later I am playing chess with a brilliant student. State champ in number sense and later goes to MIT. I am winning thanks to my 2nd grade teacher teaching me the game. Thank you Laura Causey Sheneman. The writing professor looks down at our table in the basement and request that I go upstairs and talk to him in private. I go up each stair feeling afraid at what he is going to tell me about each paper. Each step is harder than any summer workout on the excorcist steps (thanks oggie, Sgarlata, and all other Hoya Coaches)

✍️Writing instructor tells me I have pretty much been the worst writer at the camp. I think to myself he doesn’t know they have already told about my lack of skill. But then everything changes and he tells me about how I have made the largest improvement while at camp (since I was so far behind to start). Tells me that my final paper was his favorite and most likely best of the group. He told me how every week/paper he corrected a mistake and I was not making the same mistake again.

🎓 Again I went to my dorm in tears. And again I could not sleep. Crying and praying, I thanked God that I experienced the camp that gave me confidence in my ability to grow, adapt, and become a winner even from the bottom.

😴 Last night I could not fall asleep after a friend messaged me telling me that my book made it to #1. I will admit I had checked over and over all day. I went to bed happy being top 10 at bedtime. I check Facebook one more time while setting my alarm and Naomi Perales sends me a picture of my book listed at #1.

🏆Still hard to believe that the worst writer at the Leadership Camp now has a #1 best seller, hot new release on Leadership!

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https://www.amazon.com/Student-Leadership-Playbook-Motivate-Movement-ebook/dp/B08GB16RGB

Jonathan Medina Top #1 Youth Speaker

Student Leadership Expert

Youth Motivation