Leadership

Alright! This week has been all about leadership. Honestly, I absolutely love this topic. Some of my most favorite shows often discuss what true leadership actually is, so I was really happy to partake this.

We started off with a quote: "You don't need a title to be a leader."
I truly agree with this. A person doesn't have to be the physically strongest or the most popular person to be a leader. In basic terms, a leader needs to be disciplined, confident, and patient. You must respond calmly in situations. You should know how to bring the most out of your team, and help them achieve their full potential, rather than just bossing them around. This involves being tough and rewarding at the same time. You mustn't be afraid to take risks either. But you don't necessarily have to be a perfect person, which goes back to not having to be the strongest. You can still be a leader if you're afraid to wrestle a tiger. But the fact that you're willing to try to make an effort to do something, such as making a plan of action, will lead your team to respect you as a leader.

                                

An example of the development of leadership is in the novel Lord of the Flies. I am actually enjoying this book. It's been a really, really long time since I've read a good book. It's been 5 years, actually. I read two novels in 5th grade that I literally couldn't put down. They were so amazing! After that, every book I touched didn't give off that spark. I'd read a few pages, maybe forcibly a few chapters, and I couldn't take it anymore. Basically, after 5th grade, the only novels I've read cover-to-cover are school-assigned books. I honestly don't enjoy reading books. I adore certain types of stories, but not novels themselves. I don't seem to have luck with them.
                       

Most of my experiences with books, unfortunately

Lord of the Flies is pretty interesting. I've only read one chapter so far, but I feel like there's a lot of potential for the rest of the chapters. It's about a group of schoolboys who get stranded on an island, and have to work their way to survival. The first step is figuring out who's fit to be leader, and that's where the leadership question comes into play. What does it take to be a leader? I believe it's discipline, confidence, and patience - all of which Ralph doesn't have. He's the leader as of now. Ralph is more of a free-spirited, solo kind of guy. He's also a bit unaware of how he's making other people feel. One of the sweetest kids in the group tried making friends with Ralph, and preferred him to know his real name instead of his old nickname, "Piggy." But Ralph completely ignored the fact that he didn't like the name, and went ahead and starting making fun of him. That's not exactly leadership material. I don't like Jack Merridew either - he's so arrogant. When I read his scenes, I just picture a British schoolboy with curly, shoulder-length hair and a whiny voice. He expects so much, like he obviously has to be the leader. The look on his face when he saw other people voting for Ralph was priceless though, even if I only saw it in my head.

Anyway, I hope the rest of this book goes really well, and I hope I get to see more examples of what true leadership actually is. I'm also looking forward to seeing how a bunch of children survive while being stranded on an island.