“Whatever you are, be a good one.” - Abraham Lincoln

College is like a bobsled race. It's a little bit tough to get rolling, but once you do, you only stop accelerating when it's all over. Though I'm sure this beautiful analogy can be applied to several aspects of college, and life in general, I'm specifically referring to extra-curricular life in college. At my school, everyone was involved in something. Students, for the most part, were passionate, and in my opinion, it was this passion that gave my school personality and character. In terms of groups and organizations, most students comprised of the "general body" in their first and second years. By the third year they were leading and suddenly, by the fourth, they are assessing the leadership qualities of others.

Towards the end of my college career, I found myself in discussions and assessments of various leaders and types of leaders on campus. Until this point in my life, I had only led and received constructive feedback on my own leadership. Now, for the first time, I was giving the feedback. It became clear to me that the definition of a leader is not something that can be found in the pages of a dictionary. Every person, a leader in his or her own right, has a different understanding of the term and measures the quality in others using a unique barometer. During one such discussion, I dared to argue that we take ourselves too seriously sometimes (and by dared to argue, I mean that I passive-aggressively tweeted it). Yes, we are student leaders, looking out for the best interest of our peers and the organizations at large. But in the end, we are students. We are not leading cities or countries. Maybe in the future, but not now.

It pains me to see student leaders with a sense of entitlement. Because in the end, they have just a couple years "on" their group members. In the grand scheme of things, a couple years is nothing. Recently I was at a meeting with several other fourth year college students, several of whom were "leaders" in their own capacities. One hour into the meeting, I looked at my watch (read: phone) and mentioned that I had to leave soon for a rehearsal. But you are the president! You don't have to go, do you? Someone mentioned with surprise. Excuse me? If I'm the president, I should be the first one there. Lead by example...right? I was shocked.

The word leadership may be a noun, but leadership is an action. The issue is that from a young age, we are conditioned to consider leadership as a tangible entity. Think of a college application. You list all your activities and your awards and "leadership positions" for each. Being a leader is checking a box. But it's not that simple. Leadership is not confined to the lines of a page. Leadership is understanding and portraying the views of your group as a whole, not an individual. Leadership is flexibility. Leadership is cushioning the stress and unforeseen circumstances before they impact the rest of your group. Leadership is recognizing your weaknesses before realizing those of others. Leadership is respecting others as much as they respect you. Leadership is recognizing your strengths and using them for good not evil.

As John Maxwell insisted, "A great leader's courage to fulfill his vision comes from passion, not position." No election, no award, no induction makes you more of a leader than you already are. Steve Jobs said it best (of course): "Innovation distinguishes between a leader and follower." There's nothing in a name. It's about what you accomplish and equally, how you accomplish it.