Discovering Me.

Like nearly everyone else, this summer, I did a summer program at Berkeley. I could not imagine how much I would possibly learn from the ten days that I was there. The most valuable things that I learned were lessons that I was not anticipating. Overall, NSLC is about leadership and teaching students to have leadership, and for my session, it was learning leadership in the medical field. Learning about how to take initiative and charge when it comes to doing what is best for the patient.
We had lectures on medical ethics, forensics, and toxicology. We partook in medical simulations with our patients, who would prove to be the most difficult patients that we could possibly encounter, and still within those ten days, we managed to squeeze in trips to UCSF, the J.D. Gladstone Institute, and even a fun trip to Pier 39.
The first day proved to be a challenge as I felt homesick. I know I live 10 minutes away and could have call home anytime and could have seen them anytime I wanted. My dad literally works a 5 minute drive from my dorm. Regardless, the feeling of not being home bugged me, but it turned out to be first day jitters from being surrounded by so many people that I didn't know. At CCS, I am constantly surrounded by people that I am familiar with, and this was just a change of pace.
After leaving my family, I went to my dorm to settle in, and I chatted with my roommate. To define her as the complete opposite of me is the understatement of the year. I thought in my head, there is no way that I will be able to coexist with her because she is so different, ethically, morally, emotionally. She was just different. Then I talked to her that first night, and we managed to hit it off.
Then I met my TA group. We were all so different, but we learned to work together and become like a family. We bickered like family and worried like family when members were late. They came from states all over the world, and talking to them felt like exploring a new world because of how much they differ from California. I just felt so sheltered.
Surprisingly, my biggest lesson came from my leadership workshops and not the medical meetings. I learned about how leadership isn't about always taking charge, it is about finding the best solution to each problem. It isn't about winning, it is about listening and discussing. It is about trying and reaching. That may sound cheesy, but it really is.
Leadership is about trying something new and stepping out of your comfort zone. The entire week and a half was about just that. Our games challenged us to step out of our comfort zone. Even the shyest people stepped out of their comfort zones during our Ride the Donkey game. When the TAs suggested the game and said that it would be embarrassing, I became wrought with fear to the possibility of embarrassing myself in front of strangers. As I soon came to realize, it was more fun to actually try than to sit out. The game required riding an imaginary donkey, and then dancing to the beat of "FRONT FRONT FRONT, FRONT BABY; BACK BACK BACK, BACK BABY; SIDE SIDE SIDE, SIDE BABY" with a stranger.
All the activities made me realize more than ever that there are so many people that will not always have the same beliefs, style, or personality as me, but I can still get a long with every single person. There is never an instance where I can't. I just need to find it if I don't see it. I also learned about stepping out of my boundaries because I can never be a leader if I stay within my comfort zone.
A leader tries, even if they may fail because every failure builds a stronger leader.