What I Learned From MUN

 Introduction

    Well, it's official.

    After almost 20 conferences across three states and four years, my time in High School Model United Nations has come to a close after my last conference this past Saturday. I've built friendships, learned how to become a better citizen, and so much more from this club. And today, I'm going to talk about the three biggest lessons I've learned from my time in MUN.

Lesson 1: Learn when to compromise and when to stand firm.

    You will not get far in MUN if you are stubborn and refuse to compromise. In fact, you will likely be marked down and probably advised by the Presiding Officer (PO) to be more willing to compromise. However, that doesn't mean that you shouldn't stand firm on certain points. Nobody likes a delegate who flip-flops, as it can show that you probably didn't prepare very much. So, the need to find a balance on what you can compromise on and what you will hard-line on is important.

Lesson 2: Remain calm even in high-pressure situations.

    As a PO, I've seen entire committees derailed because of a crisis. They panic, they rush to find a quick fix that "solves" the issue at hand. Rarely do I see delegates remain calm and make a fully comprehensive plan that includes both a short-term and long-term solution. It has happened that they deal with the crisis properly. Still, they often overthink it and try to cover all the bases, resulting in them not dealing with the issue in time, or they don't think far enough in advance and pass a very rash directive or resolution that, in reality, would cause many more problems. A famous quote (although I don't know if this was actually said) from Apollo 13 is "Never panic early". And this is something many fail to learn, and it is costly.

Lesson 3: Remain civilized, even when debating divisive topics.

I     talked about this in a previous blog post, "How Model United Nations Helps Create and Develop Better Citizens". In that post, I say, "When participants are required to research a position on unfamiliar topics, especially a position they might not agree with, defend said position in a civilized manner, collaborate with opposing viewpoints to propose solutions, and understand that they may not get their way entirely, it cultivates a mindset that can positively influence everyday life. When a potentially polarizing topic arises, individuals can come together to debate it respectfully and, even in disagreement, maintain mutual respect". And I still stand by that. I would go on to say that the mutual respect isn't limited to post-debate; it occurs in the midst of the debate itself. In fact, at my last conference, I got into a political debate with my friend and fellow PO, and despite disagreeing on topics, we both remained calm, and the friendship didn't end there.

Honorable Mentions

    Because I've learned so much from MUN, it was hard to narrow the list down to three things. So here are two honorable mentions that almost made the list:

• Remain engaged until the very end. I wish I had learned this one earlier. In most conferences that I was in as a delegate, I would not write resolutions, and often ended up awkwardly sitting at my seat waiting for unmoderated caucuses to end. Stay engaged until you can't do anything else to further the cause.

• Accept defeat and move on. In my first true conference, I was gung-ho to write a resolution and be the face of the committee. I gathered signatories, wrote what I thought was a great working paper, and got it submitted to a draft resolution. Then, when it came time to vote on it, it failed pretty badly. It discouraged me and made me more timid to do it again for fear of rejection. I didn't accept this defeat, and it took me a while to fully move on.

Conclusion

    So, as this chapter of my life comes to a close, I reflect on the life lessons learned, friendships built, and skills developed from a club that I devoted so much time and care towards. I hope that these skills carry over into college and beyond, and that fellow MUN'ers develop these same skills and build friendships that will last as well.