Long Walk to Leadership
	It started, as frequently these things do, with dissatisfaction. The feeling that things could be so much better, if only there was someone capable at the helm! The feeling that we could be the one at the helm, piloting the ship away from disaster, towards new horizons. But soon dissatisfaction is overwhelmed by apathy, and we give up on being the change.
	But I did not.
	I took a leap of faith. With shaking hands and even shakier composure, I stood in front of my fellow Scouts on election night and put my dissatisfaction to words. I told them what I would do to fix the troop, to make it function to a level to make any of us proud. And then they chose me as Senior Patrol Leader (SPL), head of the troop.
	To become ship-shape, I immediately had to implement changes. The previous administration had been awash with impotence, mismanagement, and a muddled structure that killed any potential for accomplishment before it got off the ground. From my predecessor, I inherited all of this. But unlike my predecessor, I set out to fix it. I began by tearing the previous structure out by the roots. I placed new, competent scouts into leadership positions, not my friends. I made the troop structure more rigid, so that scouts could ask their patrol leaders rank and file questions, instead of bombarding me and throwing the meetings off track. I also added structure to the meetings in the form of assigned patrol areas. Within a few short meetings, I was able to regain control of my troop, so as to be able to get going on the path towards accomplishment and adventure.
	On top of captaining my troop, I had all the typical school activities- homework, chores, extracurricular activities, band, and the ever looming deadline to make it to the Eagle rank before my 18th birthday. The crux of the issues was church youth group, however. Scouts and youth group took up the same time slot, and I had been alternating between the two, leading to a weak presence at both. As a leader I had to make an executive decision: would I allow myself to become the weak leader I had strived to replace, or would I give up youth group? I ended up deciding to drop youth group to become a full time SPL.
	In terms of the college experience I bring a particular set of skills. I am not only an experienced leader, but one who is willing to make sacrifices to lead, and has a vision behind his leadership. I have the voice to speak up and push for change when I see mismanagement and failure. I want what is best not only for myself, but for my peers as well. In short, I am the ideal candidate for a campus like UF that has such a focus on being a voice in not only the student community, but the global community as well.