I remember it like it was yesterday. It was a chilly, 5th grade fall lunch, and I was in the school bathroom bawling my eyes out like I never have before. I rushed over to the sink and put the rest of my weight in pushing the little button with big letters “PUSH” on the top of it. A cold stream of water came rushing down and made contact with my tear-filled face. Moments before this all happened, I was presenting my speech for president. I was never too keen on volunteering to run, but they had a shortage of people so I decided to. That was my fatal mistake. After that, everything went downhill. The lunch break after the speech was what I could only describe as a living nightmare. Kids were screaming and chanting, “We don’t need you anymore Aiden!” I couldn’t take it anymore and left as fast as I could, barely making it on the way out because of my watery, blurry sight. 

While many classmates that were in that grade with me might not remember, this experience clung on to me for a while. After this, I became what I would call a safe person, one that hides in the comfort of their everyday life, not desperate to try more. Even times when I have a yellow #2HB pencil and a blank sheet of 8.5 by 11 inch paper sitting in front of me, I stare blankly. I could never have the courage to touch the graphite to the surface, because of the worry that I might create something against the popular opinion. 

However, contrary to what I have said in the past two paragraphs, I have moments where I feel overwhelmed, and that I have grabbed too many opportunities and filled up my plate too fast. Moments when I stay up at 2 am at night, just trying to finish all my extracurricular activities paired with my homework from school. When looking back at all these times, where I have done too much or too little, I learn to appreciate and find the balance of trying new experiences, yet not being too ambitious.

In recent years, I find that these hardships and memories can create space. Space to fill with improvement for the future. This filled area is the thing that will mold, shape, and form me into who I am. From the people around me, my family and friends, I have been encouraged to find my own balance of time, and open different doors. While I still am currently finding my equilibrium today, I, maybe one day, will run for president again.