After my speech, many people thanked me for my honesty and ‘realness’. Younger delegates came up to me telling me that I had encouraged them to put themselves out there, in all kinds of ways, even if they were unsuccessful. Adults and senior members of the organization shared their stories, making me feel less like a failure. All of these conversations reminded me that the experience was worth it, I was worth it. Throughout my campaigning during the convention, I had to introduce myself to many people, repeating my pitch repeatedly until it became ingrained in my mind. I met all sorts of people, wide-eyed middle schoolers, excited juniors, experienced slashers (JCL/Senior Classical Leaguers (HS Seniors)), and fellow candidates. Everyone was passionate about the classics, it wasn’t weird to walk around in my roman coin button-up shirt. It isn’t easy to just walk up to someone and introduce yourself, but with a QR code to my website, I was unstoppable (even when people thought I
If you saw me on stage this past summer, in Louisiana, at the University of Louisiana Lafayette, giving a speech, to over 1,000 people, in an echoey rodeo arena, you might’ve thought that I was in fact having a seizure. I remember trembling like a stray kitten, slipping up, over, and under the words of the speech that I was attempting to deliver. No amount of careful rehearsal and preparation could have saved me at that moment. Finally, I realized there was no turning back, so I laughed nervously and admitted to the entirety of the National Junior Classical League, Senior Classical League, our sponsors, our chaperones, our advisors, and our chairs that I had stage fright. I told them that it took a lot of courage for me to go up on the stage, this was the first time I had been on stage speaking since 2018 (in 2018, I messed up rapping a song from the musical Hamilton to an audience of nerds). I had given recorded speeches and zoom speeches previously in my other JCL office campaigns (some of which were more successful than others). Even our previous Q&A session wasn’t enough to prepare me for this moment. Nothing could have prepared me for the complete and utter terror I would experience on stage. It was definitely my first rodeo.
My campaign for NJCL Editor didn’t go as I would have hoped but it taught me a lot.
was going to rickroll them). After my campaigning period was over, I continued to go out of my way to continue to meet more incredible people, this time, without a QR code.
This experience is one that could’ve ended differently. I could have spent the rest of the convention after I lost the election sitting in my room, with my vinyl pillow and thin sheets, wallowing, but I didn’t. I went back to my room, listened to Mitski for 15 minutes, cried my heart out, and then I fixed my makeup and went to dinner with my friends. It wasn’t my first or even my second JCL election loss; in 2021, during a virtual campaign as a sophomore I lost in an election for the first time. I lost to a much more experienced candidate for the position of OJCL Second Vice President but was informed that I put myself out there well, and made an impression on the members of the organization. Since I lost, I was able to apply for the historian position, which I quickly learned I was better suited for. I much preferred to make my scrapbook, take pictures, and
The importance of failure
And why you should run for office
Editor Alexandra Leech
The 2021-22 OJCL board and me during my term as historian.
OJCL Torch
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