My first experience

We all know that the first experiences always create lasting impressions apart from taking the individual through a train of nervous moments. Yesterday I had one such a moment.

My daughter’s school had an investiture function and I was asked to be the Chief Guest for the function. Investiture function is a day when new house leaders accept the responsibilities. Week ago, when I got the phone call, I was told to gear my message on the most appropriate message for the day - Leadership. I gladly accepted the responsibility but my immediate question to myself was “Why me”?

My parents are visiting us so my father wanted to accompany me. We reached the school premises well before time and as soon as we reached, junior school headmistress ushered us into the principal’s office. After a short chat, we walked with the newly elected leaders up on to the stage. All the students and their parents were in the audience.

I decided to talk about a Bible character to talk about the leadership qualities. I chose ‘Nehemiah’ who defied the conventional thinking to build the wall around the ancestral city of Jerusalem which was ruined by the adversaries. When I talked about courage, I said to the new leaders that

1. Courage is not the absence of fear but mastery of it
2. Courage is not synonymous with being a confrontationist but a catalyst
3. Courage builds on courage and
4. Courage enables you to think out of the box

At the end, I challenged the school to learn more about child rights and help themselves and others to become aware of their entitlements in India. And then, I was asked to give away the certificate of leadership to the new leaders. Some of these kids I know them from the church so it was nice to see such young boys/ girls accepting leadership roles.

Both my daughters attend this school so I had one fear up on the stage: I kept thinking what if my girls come running up on to the stage to sit with me? My older one did it once when she had to dance in her day care, refused to do it when she saw me sitting in the front row to take pictures. I knew if they do it, school wouldn’t mind it and I would have loved too but they never did come.

Well….I was thinking about my daughter becoming a ‘head girl’ when she reaches 12th grade and that’s another 10 years to go.