My understanding of my capacity to lead has grown intensely throughout the LDR 101: Gender and Music course, and my transition from high school to college in general. As of right now, I understand that leadership doesn’t just mean me excelling at things I love to do, or setting and example, it also means taking advantage of education, listening to other people about their concerns, and owning up your mistakes. Certain activities during the semester such as reading William Cronon’s article at the very beginning put a lot of things in perspective for me. Though I didn’t agree with some of his comments about the correlation between the type of education one receives and their value to society, I did note that when it comes to a strong dependable leader, we all value many of the same things. Many of my traits that I aspire to have as leader someday overlapped with not only Cronon’s, but many of my peers, and that resonated with me heavily. This course taught me that even if you have a theory about something that may not be a fact, you still need to state it confidently and back it up with evidence. This is true in many aspects of life and is especially true with leaders. In my preparation for song presentations and essays analyzing songs, it became clear to me that there is a lot grey area about things when it comes to the top of this course, but when it comes to talking about topic you are passionate about, you have to do your research and throw your ideas out there, regardless of what others think. Another huge part of leadership is being in the supporting role for others when they’re voicing their thoughts and opinions. I believe that I have grown into a better friend and a better listener throughout the past semester which ultimately could help me become a better leader in the future. There were many group discussions within my team in class, where my opinion on something differed from a peer’s but taking the time to listen to their point of view was always worth it because I ended up learning things that I could take with me down the road. My teammates and I all I had a genuine respect for each other, and a somewhat unspoken understanding that we had all completely different ways in which we were experiencing the world. Now, I believe that being a good leader, means believing that everyone has something to teach you and everyone has something to bring to the table. I used to be apprehensive about disagreeing with others, or others not agreeing with me, but now I’m beginning to realize that opposition is healthy for everyone, and it helps me examine my own point of view from a different perspective. I feel as though my capacity to lead may have doubled, just by soaking up these behaviors around me being implemented. My capacity for great leadership and my definition of leadership has evolved thoroughly throughout my first semester at Agnes and throughout my LDR class.
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