Finding Identity and Growth Through Leadership by Gianna

Finding Identity and Growth Through Leadership by Gianna - January 2026 Scholarship Essay

Everyone experiences growth throughout their lives and throughout high school. If they didn’t I’d be concerned for them. However, the person that I was four years ago doesn’t exist anymore. My growth throughout high school killed the person that I used to be and, honestly, I’m glad that it did.

Going into high school, I was the quietest, shiest kid ever. I could barely make eye contact with people. The thought of talking to people I didn’t know actually made me cry. To put it plainly, I was a nervous wreck.

I’m not sure when things changed. Maybe it happened over time, maybe a switch just flipped one day.

My whole life, leadership has been preached to me relentlessly. Often it was my old girl scout troop encouraging leadership roles at a young age. Often it was my parents telling me to step up and be a role model for younger kids, even when I needed a role model myself. Younger me didn’t even want to talk to people, much less lead them.

It was my junior year that I was a team captain for the first time, first for cross country, then for swim team. It came as a shock because, in my mind, I was still the scared girl that I had been at the beginning of high school. I don’t know if I changed because I was chosen, or was chosen because I had changed.

When I was given an important leadership role that I was truly passionate about, it solidified the change that I was going through. I could no longer be shy and scared. Even when I was uncomfortable, I had to put myself out there, not just for myself and my growth, but for my teammates who relied on me.

Of course, I still made mistakes. Sometimes I didn’t provide enough leadership and things didn’t go according to plan. Sometimes I felt I was way too bossy. But as I got more experience, I learned how to truly step into who I was meant to be.
As I became a leader, I became a different person. I became more talkative, more empathetic, and most importantly, I became more confident, not just in my abilities to lead, but in so many other aspects of life.

My confidence grew in social situations, and I no longer got scared to talk to people. I became more confident athletically, pushing myself and my teammates to places I never thought I’d reach. I became more confident academically, challenging myself with difficult courses and extra work.

Most importantly, I became more confident in who I am. I developed my own identity, something that I honestly didn’t have four years ago. I became someone that people could rely on, someone that brought positive energy. I became someone that the girl I was four years ago would have looked up to and aspired to be.

Of course my confidence still wavers, and of course I still have so much to learn. But if I could talk to the girl I was four years ago, she truly wouldn’t believe that we were the same person. The leadership roles that I’ve been given truly sparked and solidified that growth, and I can’t wait to see who I become in the next chapter of my life.