how i won the student election.

I immigrated to the sweet ol’ US of A when I had just turned nine. I didn’t speak or understand a word of English and was constantly frustrated by my inability to express my thoughts in school. Mind you, I was an incredibly smart kid who had memorized the entire multiplication table, knew how to read the time, and knew how to read and write the Korean language before I entered primary school so not being able to communicate was incredibly frustrating. But with hard work and dedication, I found myself fluent in English in about four years time. This story however takes place two years after my arrival to America, in fifth grade.

Because I had grown up away from my Parents and siblings for nearly the first decade of my life, I wasn’t so close to them: my Parents. They were sort of trying to get to know me and well, I was trying to win their love and approval any way that I could. In the final year of Primary school, the fifth graders were eligible to run for Associated Student Body (ASB) and I boldly made the decision to run for Student Body President.  My posters were understandably a mess in my chopped up English and well, I didn’t prepare much for the speech. Matter of fact, it was sort of difficult to understand the step-by-step process of the whole thing and I didn’t get a chance to prepare my speech at all. So I did what any unprepared, determined kid would; I freestyled it.

I sat in the waaaaay back row with the rest of the candidates both nervous and extremely excited. I probably had the dumbest grin on my face because after careful thought and consideration, I knew exactly what I wanted to say. Like I mentioned previously, I was a pretty smart student in Korea. The teachers favored me and I wanted to mention that. I wanted to let the school know that I was a good student in Korea and that if they could put a little faith in me, I would be the best Student Body President in the history of Larchmont Elementary School.

In preparation of my turn to come, I went over my speech and I prayed. I prayed my special little prayer and I believe till this day that without that prayer, I wouldn’t have won the election. I let God know that I needed this and that I wasn’t running to win the election for myself, I was doing it to make my Parents proud of me. I was doing it for them. I don’t think I even knew what a Student Body President was.

So my name gets called and I walk towards the mic with my sweaty little fingers crossed behind my back. I grab the mic from the stand and introduce myself,

“Hello, my name is Yirang.”

Here’s where it gets interesting.

[Pause]

“My name is Yirang, and I was Champion of Korea! Vote for me! You’ll like it.”

[throws fist in air, victoriously]

[silent auditorium]

[I bow, put mic back, and return to my seat]

[scattered applause in auditorium]

Excuse my language but I’m not shitting you. The other kids had promises of free pizza and soda every Friday and that was my freaking speech.

But hey, I won.

Sometimes when I find myself straying from the path of faith, I think of the moment when the prayer of little me was graciously answered. Sometimes when I feel like He isn’t there, I remind myself with this little memory that He is always listening.

There ya have it folks. Be sure to link me to your story!

 

++Be sure to check out the rest of my May 2013: Blog a Day Challenge here.

Image source: society6