I am thankful for BPA because being a part of this organization has changed my world in so many ways. The role models in BPA continuously teach me leadership skills and are always pushing me to get out of my comfort zone. This year the Fall Leadership Conference returned to in person, and I was very nervous to stand up in front of large crowds and speak, but I overcame my fear and succeeded in speaking in front of the membership.

BPA has given me the opportunity to gain many friendships that I wouldn’t have imagined. At my home high school students and teachers see me as a quiet person and BPA has given me a chance to come out of my shell. When I was in middle school, I used to get teased a lot about how I look, how I dressed and that I never talked to anyone.

Now I feel like I am a new person, and I am not as quiet as I once was. Sometimes my classes at my home high school are shocked when I talk to my classmates as a group or even ask questions to my teachers in front of them. This year I plan to talk to more people and embrace my new confidence in myself and my new skills.

As my parents tell me, “We all learn, but not the same day or the same way.” I have realized it was very difficult to speak two languages (English and Spanish), but as the years have gone by it is getting easier for me. I must remember no one is perfect in the world that we live in. I am thankful for all the people that have supported me through this great organization of BPA such as both of my advisors Mrs. McClure and Mrs. Lee because without them, I wouldn’t be where I am right now.

-Adriel Lora