miles away
China was a girl she really loved her
family but she didn’t always do things
the proper way one day as was customary
she was sent to go see the matchmaker to
find herself a husband however within a
few minutes she the brash banker
promptly decided that Mulan would never
be married and she was not fit to have a
husband to add to her troubles there was
a war going on in China and her father
who was injured was drafted to be part
of the army one thing led to another and
Mulan found ourselves just as a guy with
training in the Imperial Army now Mulan
is a bit of a tomboy but she isn’t
exactly manly so there are definitely
some struggles along the way however
with a lot of hard work and perseverance
Mulan was able to earn the respect of
her peers and make some new friends in
the battlefields Mulan used her quick
thinking to create an avalanche that
would wipe out most of the hanai army
and then she used her newly learned
fighting skills to protect the Emperor
from Xiang Yu the Hun leader and pretend
saved China from being taken over by the
Huns then she went home with the
Emperor’s medallion and Xiang Yu’s sword
as proof of her success in the army I
don’t know about you guys but Mulan is
my all-time favorite Disney movie right
right so um I believe that even though
it’s just a Disney movie it’s not it
doesn’t mean that there isn’t this
lesson that we can learn from it first
off Mulan saved China she didn’t wait
around for Prince Charming to come and
sweep her off her feet she took matters
into her own hands and then yes thank
you she took matters into her own hands
and saved herself and her comrades but
what else can we learn from Mulan first
you’ll need good advice
Mulan’s didn’t know anything about what
it means to be a guy and she definitely
didn’t know anything about what it takes
to be a soldier in the army you meet
other than the fact that she could
potentially die you know minor detail
luckily for her there were ancestors who
were ghosts in her family shrine that
came up with a plan to spend her help so
that she would be able to get to get out
of the army and to be bringing for
herself back home alive it’s also the
same for me when I have when I see my
long to-do list and everything that I
have to do to get done in a week in a
day I get tunnel vision I starts to
stare at my computer and I do and only
see what’s in front of me however at the
same time that means I don’t eat I don’t
sleep I don’t drink water so technically
I could also type but thankfully for me
I have parents who are much wiser than
me and remind me every day and tell me
Florence you need to eat you need to
sleep and you need to drink water and
you also need to prioritize what you
need to get done in a day so you don’t
go crazy sometimes listening to the
simplest advice is all I really need to
get through a sticky situation and get
through the day
secondly you’ll need good friends lucky
from Mulan she didn’t go to the army
alone she had her family Guardian dragon
moo shu her grandma’s lucky cricket and
her trustworthy horse with her the
entire time throughout the whole movie
the Upson in the good the bad the UPS
the downs the dangerous and the slightly
less dangerous the three of them were
there with her to encourage her and keep
her and keep her going even when she had
lost hope in herself and that’s the same
for me I’ve discovered miles in college
as sometimes I really all I need is a
good encouragement and some moral
support and I can write that paper late
into the night I can study for an exam
that I five minutes ago had no
confidence in passing at all and it’s
because people in like my roommates or
my friends will text me and say hey good
luck on that exam tomorrow and I just
feel so grateful also it really helps
when there’s someone listening to you
rants and vents about your day but in
moderation guys thirdly lastly and most
importantly you’ll need some support
because
the person I am today and the things
that I can do now is because of the
strong foundation built by the people
standing behind me and pushing me
forward encouraging me to do the things
I want to do the thing that isn’t
emphasized a lot in the movie of Mulan
is that Mulan didn’t survive an
avalanche on her own she didn’t scale
the imperial palace by herself she had
help she had people who were ready
willing and able to fight alongside of
her and go with her into danger and help
her and help her defeat the unending me
and accomplished great things because a
leader without any supporters it’s just
a crazy person without in it with an
idea so once upon a time there was a
girl me who had to go to a Scholarship
interview and we got to the part where
we had to talk about our leadership
experiences and love me with how I spent
my time in high school and let me tell
you I was ready I had a five-minute
speech I have developed and perfected
and I was going to pour out all of this
information on to this poor interviewer
but he stopped me short instead he gave
me this quote that really caught me off
guard he said the best leaders are the
ones who can encourage the next
generation and build up their peers when
I decided to go to the Honors College I
knew I was gonna get a great education I
knew I was gonna learn a lot of things
and I was gonna be able to be great
become a great doctor one day however
what I didn’t think about and this Cole
always reminds me every day is that I
can grow and mature even more through
the shared experiences and struggles
that I go through together with my
classmates and my friends and on this
campus so effective leaders are the ones
who don’t let their ideas die with them
but the best leaders out there are the
ones who leave a legacy behind through
the people that they work with who will
pick up the work and finish what they left off thank you