What?
The first week I stepped onto the Virginia Tech campus, I was welcomed by screaming, commands, crying, and throwing up. Sounds horrible right? I was in the Corps of Cadets; it just wasn’t for me. But from there I learned many things about leadership. I found myself in an unfamiliar land, language and routine. Even though the Corps wasn’t for me, I still learned greatly from it. The program is great and I’ve seen my friends blossom in it.
So What?
Why is this a key event for me? The program was doing its best to set me up for success. It was teaching me how to listen but also how to lead a group when told. I have to learn everything through mistakes. That’s the one thing that truly stuck with me after two years of being out of the program. When you make mistakes, you will likely never make the same mistake again. Now since this is a military program, mistakes are at a higher stake. For example, in the military, there is a reason things are done the same way every time. Not to be strict or a stickler, but for safety. One of the things we got yelled at a lot was for “snakes” AKA our shoelaces. They didn’t yell at us for the fun of it, they yelled at us because if we tripped and fell, you or someone else could get hurt.
Now What?
From the Corps, I have taken in many new things. I realized that when I was a child and I messed up, my parents weren’t yelling at me because they were mad at me but because they wanted to protect me. Leaders want to protect you and make sure you are performing to the best of your ability. Some leaders are mean, some too mean, some nice or even too nice. At the end of the day, each leader has the same goal, to get the job done and for everyone to be safe while doing it. As for myself, I plan to take all the things I learned from the Corps and apply them to future leadership opportunities.
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