One more story from Magnet alumnus Renee Do, Shreveport

Renee Do, Shreveport
Originally uploaded by trudeau

I wanted to talk about one more recent failure of mine that I thought you guys would really enjoy to hear about. At the beginning of medical school, I ran for class president. I threw a campaign party over the weekend and invited all 120 students to my house of just 1300 square feet (but only 30 people came).

I shared old test files and study materials with everybody on my class, and I even got up in front of everybody on the day of elections, took my guitar, and proceeded to embarrass myself by singing "Hey Ya!" by Outkast. You know, the usual deal to get them to vote for me.

And, when I got an email about "re-elections for class president," I saw that the ballot did not have my name on it. Rather, it had the other two people on it.

I lost. I lost to a guy who did absolutely nothing to campaign for president and to a girl who organized a can food drive.

I felt awful. I had just made a complete fool out of myself, all for nothing. I even had other people in my class made fun of me, calling me the loser who "worked too hard to run for president and didn't get it."

It was EMBARRASSING BEYOND BELIEF. But, it taught me that there are people out there who can be very mean to you, who will put you down constantly, who will discourage you from reaching your dreams. But it is up to you, it is up to you individually to make the most out of it.

And what did I decide? I decided that my class is a bunch of weirdos and that me not winning is actually a blessing in disguise. Because had I won, I would not have pursued St. Baldrick's Day. Had I won, I would not have had the opportunity to talk with all of you Friday. Had I won, I would not be standing here today, fighting pediatric cancer.

"Never confuse a single defeat with a final defeat, besides, there is much to be said for failure. It is more interesting than success, so try again. Fail again. Fail better."

Thank you so much for giving me 90 minutes of your time to hear me out and talk with me. Thank you for being so kind to me, as I shared my most vulnerable moments with you. I really appreciate it a lot, and I hope that you will consider making a difference in someone's life today by joining St. Baldrick's. Just search St. Baldrick's Day Shreveport on Facebook, message the page, and I'll be in contact with you there!