~:[CH14 - Day 73]:~ With Tears and Fears, Hope Appears

 
~:[CH14 - Day 73]:~ With Tears and Fears, Hope Appears

It's always a difficult day. The hard work that these students have put into November was all for these few days of conference. They put themselves to the test. Sometimes things work out, while at others, the pain and frustration of the conference can be overwhelming. Many fear that they will not be able to do as well as they had hoped and tears flow for others who are disappointed on how things turned out. My response is often, you can only do what you can do. There are too many things you can't control in life and MUN is a great way for these students to learn that lesson. For a variety of reasons, there were fears and at the end there are tears, but through that process, there is also hope. These students will learn how to deal with the adversity of life. They'll see that even when they outperform, sometimes, they'll be overlooked and at other times, when they work hard, they'll face someone who still rises above them. In all situations, I hope that they can see that they can only do their best. Forcing them to learn how to "figure it out" is one of the things in MUN that I think helps these students become the most successful. It doesn't always work out, but they learn to handle these difficult and sometimes disappointing situations and use it to help them learn and grow for the future. In the end, we ended up with six delegates who earned distinction (best delegate) and another six who won awards (top three in committee), but they all were rewarded with life lessons that could never be replaced. Life teaches us that even when we do everything right, things may not work out and I know that MUN helps prepare them for these life situations so they can navigate the challenges that life prepares for them. Life can be disappointing and bring fears and tears, however, that's exactly the moment they learn that all hope is not lost and they have the ability to overcome all the obstacles in their way.