Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
As the weeks of class started I found<br />
myself taking notes and struggling to stay<br />
on top of my homework. Even though I was<br />
confused, I just could not bring myself to do<br />
something so simple as asking for help when<br />
I needed it most. This was evident when I<br />
walked into class the day after the first test. As<br />
I walked in and found my way to my assigned<br />
seat, I did the usual “get myself organized”<br />
routine because that’s what good students do.<br />
Just as we settled in row by row the teacher<br />
passed back each of our tests. With each step<br />
I could feel my heart beating a little faster and<br />
my palms began to sweat—I was nervous.<br />
One by one the papers came back until I<br />
found my test in my hands. I ever so slowly<br />
turned it over, took a deep breath and opened<br />
my eyes to see my grade and sure enough,<br />
there written in ugly red ink was the number<br />
67 and a note that said, “see me after class.”<br />
A few of you are nodding your heads<br />
because you’ve been in that same position.<br />
We face a lot of tough situations, especially<br />
in high school! And sometimes if we just had<br />
a little support from someone else, we would<br />
be able to get through those trying times<br />
much more easily. But what about when the<br />
tables are turned? Just as we have all been in<br />
those situations where we have needed others,<br />
there are people around us every day who<br />
need us. Do we take the opportunity to give<br />
other people our support? The responsibility<br />
of helping and supporting others may seem<br />
overwhelming, but all we have to do is open<br />
our eyes to the opportunities around us and<br />
believe in everyone.<br />
This year I have been able to do a fair<br />
amount of traveling. I can remember a couple of<br />
weeks in particular where I started off traveling<br />
all across Arizona, visiting about three chapters<br />
a day then I found myself in Texas where<br />
I had some awesome conversations with the<br />
area officers, attended rockstar workshops and<br />
finished off each day with a Texan’s favorite,<br />
some dancing. Keep in mind this isn’t the Cupid<br />
Shuffle, the Macarena or the Soldier Boy but<br />
rather that good ol’ fast-paced Texas two steppin<br />
aka a big workout. I then spent some time in<br />
Iowa and Minnesota before I was finally headed<br />
to the Ohio state convention.<br />
By this point I had approximately four<br />
hours of sleep, the e-mails stacked a mile high,<br />
a sister I had not talked to since who knows<br />
when, I was lagging on my Facebook creeping<br />
and I think my hair smelled odd. As the plane<br />
landed that afternoon, the only thought going<br />
through my head was how I could not wait<br />
until I ended up in my hotel room and could<br />
study the back of my eyelids.<br />
As I found my way to baggage claim I<br />
was greeted by a super friendly girl—because<br />
Ohio people are really nice—who helped me<br />
get everything I needed complete with a Wal-<br />
Mart trip and all before finally dropping me<br />
off at the hotel. Once checked in and headed<br />
up to my room I could barely keep my eyelids<br />
open but as the elevator doors opened, I<br />
heard a “HEY Randa!” The entire state officer<br />
team was in the hallway and let me tell you,<br />
they just bring a smile to your face, with their<br />
energy and enthusiasm. I could just not resist<br />
a good 30 minute conversation before parting<br />
ways and FINALLY I found myself in the place<br />
I had wanted to be the most in the world that<br />
day…my hotel room. Right as I walked into<br />
the room, I immediately fell into bed still fully<br />
dressed and was drifting off to sleep when<br />
I heard a tap tap tap at my door. I thought<br />
Randa Braune continued<br />
seriously, who would be here right now, so I<br />
laid frozen in bed because if I don’t move, they<br />
can’t see me. Then the tap tap tap came again<br />
so I sighed and I forced myself out of bed.<br />
I opened the door to find three of the state<br />
officers who were still just as energetic as<br />
before. They had just wanted to come by and<br />
say hello. As I greeted them I was happy to<br />
see them but my initial thought was OK,I am<br />
tired so I can just say hello, make this a quick<br />
conversation and then exit. So I went with the<br />
“Hey, y’all ready for tomorrow? Oh good, me<br />
too, see ya in the morning!” But before I knew<br />
it, the conversation started rolling, I quickly<br />
learned these people are SO interesting! We<br />
then found ourselves sitting in the hallway for<br />
the next three hours chatting about everything!<br />
We talked about life, school, families<br />
and what the next few days would be like as<br />
they put on their state convention. Later that<br />
night, I went inside, brushed my teeth, prepared<br />
myself for bed when my phone lit up<br />
with a text message. It was from Jeremy, the<br />
state president who stayed up talking with us<br />
and it simply said “Randa, you will never know<br />
how much that conversation and encouragement<br />
meant to us. Thank you.”<br />
You know that feeling you get in the pit<br />
of your stomach when you just learned a life<br />
lesson? Well it happened. Here this whole day<br />
I had been so preoccupied with just wanting<br />
for myself, wanting sleep, only worrying about<br />
my problems when I should have just opened<br />
my eyes to an opportunity to help others when<br />
they needed it most. These state officers were<br />
about to put on the biggest week of their year<br />
and all they simply needed was someone<br />
to believe in them and I almost missed the<br />
opportunity.<br />
3 9
Change language