The Performance Enhancing Drug: A Poison That Has Continued to Spread, Despite Our Best Efforts to Suppress It

Michelle Vega

Dr. William

English 1301-033

September 27, 2017

A Step into Nursing

Years from now, I know my dreams of becoming a Nurse Anesthetist will turn into a reality. While on my journey at UTA, I will need to use three acts of communication that I learned while being a class officer in high school; being compassionate, trustworthy, and a logical thinker. I incorporated humor into my conversations so that I could not only be seen as an officer, but also a friend. As I gained more experience, I was trusted with the role of being Vice President. Finally, I used my knowledge to plan out our senior year activities while on a tight budget. This experience has turned some of my previous weaknesses into my strengths. It taught me to be collaborative and methodical, two key characteristics that I will need to join the nursing community on campus. I hope that by the end of analyzing this paper my classmates can realize that every discourse community we have been a part of, no matter how insignificant it may seem, has shaped us into who we are now.  

I knew that I would have to develop a personal connection with the officers that I would be working closely with. At my school, class officers are in charge of organizing class events, creating funds for those events, and making sure that their fellow classmates are enjoying their high school experience. The long list of responsibilities made going in to my first class officer meeting with experienced members daunting. I realized that if I did not know who they were outside of the meetings then it would be difficult to properly communicate with them, especially when I disagreed with some of their ideas. I first began by using humor at meetings to increase my likability within the group. My light-hearted jokes made the class officers want to approach me and get to know me on a personal level. Joking around at the right times left a lasting impression on the members that I was getting to know because it showed them that I was a good person. I used the right amount of eye contact while they told me about their lives to show that I was an attentive listener. Any time that event planning became too stressful I was there to hear my new friends vent. Getting to know their different personalities allowed me to figure out the best way to collaborate with each officer. Working well with each other was crucial seeing as we were part of a community that made decisions for 400 other students. I did such a good job at connecting to the members in my community on an emotional level that by the end of my journey as a class officer I had found my best friends. My body language, humor, and sympathy all played a role in making me a member of the organization.

In order to consider myself a true member of North Side High School’s class officers, I had to prove that I was as qualified as the rest of them. For me to move up to a higher position the following year I knew I would have to show my work ethic in the first year. After observing the experienced members for a semester, I organized my first fundraiser. Although it seems that organizing a food stand at Earth Fest, the biggest event of the school year, is easy, I quickly learned otherwise. Determining the food that would be sold, materials needed, prices, and persuading students to volunteer all seemed like it was too much to handle at first. The motivation that kept me going was the credibility that I would receive as an officer if the booth ran smoothly. In the meeting following the event, I had to confidently report our earnings to the rest of the officers to show that I was worthy of handling important tasks. After having a successful night, I was trusted with a greater amount of responsibilities. It was important for me to show my capabilities that night because as I began to move up in the class officer hierarchy I would have to deal with more important issues. In less than a year I became the Senior Class Vice President. I was able to achieve a higher status faster than any other previous member because I created a good reputation for myself. Without having the opportunity to organize an event that, at the time, seemed beyond my capabilities the members would have never seen my potential. It was crucial for me to show confidence through my body language while presenting the stats for the night of the fundraiser so I could seem qualified.