BANG! BANG! BANG! Anthony Mells

"BANG! BANG! BANG!" I slam the gavel on the desk to get everyone's attention. As I sit in front of the High School Site Council, full of administrators, teachers, students, and members of the community, I call the meeting to order. Serving as the President of the Torrey Pines Site Council is just one of my many leadership tasks. At the conclusion of the meeting, I rush over to the tennis courts, where I, as the Varsity Team Captain, hold a preseason practice. The next day at the football game, I don the heavy, plastic and feathered suit that transforms me into Freddy the Falcon, the spirited school mascot. Concurrently, I am on the phone calling various venues for the senior prom I am organizing. Taking on all of these responsibilities has been a challenge; however, it is a challenge I am devoted to, and because of it, I am not just a student at my school, I am an integral part of my school.

Ever since the fourth grade, when I first ran for office in the Student Council, I have been leading my classmates. I look back to those years, remembering the nervous excitement I felt when I explained to my classmates why I was the best candidate. I also recall my feelings of pride and exhilaration as I stood on the school...