NLSADD

Hello!

by Amanda Dinger

Hello everyone! My name is Amanda Dinger and I am the current Northern Lights SADD Student of the Year. Many of you may not know who I am, but no worries you will shortly find out a lot about me in a little amount of time! I live in McVille, ND and I am a Senior at Dakota Prairie High School. Within my school I am highly involved by being an editor for our schools year book, participating in the high school choir, playing on the basketball team, and being a member of our schools SADD chapter. Outside of school you can find me either watching basketball or baseball, shopping, hanging out with friends, working on stuff for SADD, or sitting in my bed watching Dexter on Netflix.

My journey to becoming SOY wasn't exactly one I thought I would ever encounter when I was younger. When I was in 4th, 5th, and 6th grade I always remember when the older high school students would come to the elementary school and teach us a lesson from Reality Check every month. When I saw them standing up in front of me talking about all of the things that we will encounter as we get older and the reasons on why we should stay away from alcohol, I kept telling myself that one day I wanted to be up in the front of a class full of kids talking to them about the same thing. Both of my older sisters were involved in SADD and when I first got to high school, the first thing I did was join our SADD chapter. When I first joined, I never thought I would be a part of more then just our schools chapter. Leading up to my Sophomore year of high school I had experienced some rough spots in my life and SADD was always there to get my mind off of things and it kept me in line. That's when I started thinking, I really love this organization and what they do and everything you can be apart of within it. When it first got brought up to me about running for NLAB, I debated on it for a very long time. My freshman year I decided not to because I didn't think I was ready for it, and my Sophomore year I started to think that maybe I should do it. The applications came out and I stared at it for the longest time and then one day it hit me that the worst that could happen is I wouldn't get on so I went on a filled it out and at that moment in time it was one of the greatest things that I did with my life. Walking into training the first day, I knew I belonged there. NLAB was crazy fun my first year and I knew that I would run the next year. Now when it comes to becoming Student of the Year, the thing that made me realize I should run for it was my first school visit as an NLABer. Many of you may be thinking why did that make me run, well it's a pretty strange story. After I was done presenting and the students were leaving one of the students walked up to me and she started talking to me. The first thing she asked is why I wanted to be a part of SADD and I told her and then it was the next words that she said to me that really hit me. She told me, "You really do have guts to get in front of a high school with kids your age in the crowd and talk to them about this." After that she went on about how she could barely get in front of her class and talk to them. After she got done talking I said thank you because I was left speechless. That ride home all I could think about was what she said to me, that night it was all I could think about. I started to think she is right, not a lot of kids can get in front of a crowd and talk to them. I really started to like speaking in front of people and I was very passionate about SADD. Now I am here, as SOY, approaching my senior year and it is one of those bittersweet moments in life. Throughout my years I have grown in love with SADD and it has become my lifestyle. It is a lifestyle that has kept me on track and it has opened up opportunities for me that I never thought would be there for me. I have met some of my greatest friends through SADD and there are bonds with people that I have created that will never go away. SADD is like a family. We all have each others back and we are not afraid to stand up for one another because we all believe in the same thing. 

I encourage each and everyone of you to find something you are passionate about and go for it, see how far in life you can go with it because you'd be surprised at what could happen. Do not be afraid to take risks and do not be afraid to fail. Think of it like this, "If life was a game, would you consider yourself winning or losing?" It is your life, make the most of it! 

If you ever need anything you can surely follow me on twitter @AmandaDinger or add me on Facebook and I will gladly be open to talking. Also follow the good ole @NLABers and @nlsadd to stay in the loop of all the fun activities that will be occurring through out the year! Don't be afraid to go to Facebook either and like the Northern Lights SADD page!

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