What Service In School Taught Me

Service at school has taught me by doing the smallest things you can make a big difference. The one thing I didn't like about service at our school was how long we did it for. We establish a connection with the people in our service and then we leave and not come back so sometimes that can do more harm than good. I loved doing the services because it allowed me to understand more of what is going on in the world and create my own thinking when the media presents things a certain way.

The IFP conference as a whole was quite an interesting experience. What I liked about the conference is that I was able to understand different viewpoints of people's cultures. I developed a connection with the delegates through Zumba sessions in the mornings. The first few days were quite hard for me to adjust since I was sick, and the facilitators weren't really able to communicate well with one another. Luckily, that was a problem that only lasted for a few days. This conference was meant to be an opportunity to have developed leadership skills, however, I felt like I lost confidence in myself because when I did take the initiative to lead, facilitators were speaking over me, and undermining me in front of the delegates. 

This experience showed me that being a leader is also recognising when it's other people’s chance to step up. Additionally, through the zumba sessions I learnt that you can lead from the middle, and that it doesn't mean you have to lead in the front. Being a leader doesn't mean you're standing up and the front all the time. Leading comes in various of ways you can lead from the middle but not the front This conference allowed me to see that we can all take charge, but there are very few that can lead, very few that can allow others to input their ideas and motivate them. Service Day was an amazing experience because I got to delegate instructions for once in the conference, and I enjoyed zumba because that was another activity where I was allowed to lead, and allowed me to engage with the delegates even though it was just dancing.

At the end of the conference one of the delegates told me that through zumba it gave her confidence in herself to meet new friends and to actually talk in front of people. I honestly didn't think zumba would have this effect on the delegates. This is something that will really stick with me when I remember the impact I had on the conference. I have learnt the importance of effective communication. I have learnt who were managers and leaders.