UNEXPECTED CIRCUMSTANCES

They say that everything happens for a reason, but I didn't realize how accurate this was until now. This past weekend, I attended the 2017 National Leadership Conference for FBLA (Future Business Leaders of America) in Anaheim, California, an experience that turned out completely contrary to what I had expected. A couple days before the conference I had asked myself why I was spending nearly $300 to attend a conference where I wouldn't even be competing in the event that I desired and I would only sulk and regret my seemingly aimless decision. This made me think back to my initial decision to attend this conference. At the previous conference (California State Leadership Conference), I placed 7th in an event called "Future Business Leader," a difficult event encompassing many different business-related topics as well as an interview portion. Unfortunately, only top 4 in an event qualify for the National Leadership Conference. So, I thought, ok maybe some people will drop and I will be able to attend the conference. I wasn't notified for a while, so I thought it's ok, I can still attend by joining a team that was missing a member. Little did I know, the one team from my school that needed a substitute did not desire for me to be a part of their team. Regardless, I still decided to attend the conference since I had already paid the conference registration fees.

Last year, I attended the National Leadership Conference in Atlanta, Georgia for Electronic Career Portfolio and did not even place finals due to unforeseen circumstances. My plan was to redeem myself at the National Leadership Conference in Anaheim this year. Since I didn't even get the chance to compete, I felt extremely regretful and greatly doubted myself for choosing to attend this conference. At the conference, I had to make the most of my experience; I ended up attending workshops with a friend from another region who also was not competing, networked with individuals from across the nation, passed a certification exam, visited the campaign booths (where candidates handed out a bunch of free giveaways), and competed in an open FBLA event (macroeconomics). Later in the weekend, I went to Disneyland with my friends, which was super fun though we were all pretty sleep-deprived.

On the last day of the conference, I attended the Awards of Excellence Ceremony. I thought that I would regret attending this ceremony since I most likely wouldn't be receiving a trophy. However, upon seeing my friends going on stage to receive awards for their hard work, my outlook on this conference completely changed. From this conference, I learned a very valuable lesson - it can be thrilling to receive a trophy or even get the chance to compete for a trophy, but it is truly fulfilling to watch and cheer for your friends getting rewarded for their hard work and achievements. Being able to rejoice for my friends made my National Leadership Conference experience truly worthwhile.