The Courage of Children: Boston and Beyond XXXI

Aleena Sattar
Sara Coyle, Teacher
Beverly Hills Academy, Beverly Hills, MI
Courage in My Life National Essay Contest Winner
To me, courage is doing something you wouldn’t normally do or even saying
something you wouldn’t normally say. Stepping out of your comfort zone is
courageous. Acts of courage can be big or small, and can go up, down, or
sideways. But, no matter what happens after your courageous act, you should
still make sure you bring out the courage you have when it is needed. An
example of this is an incident that happened my fourth grade year.
One day during fourth grade, I was sitting at my desk and talking with my
friends at dismissal. I couldn’t hear anyone else and didn’t realize that a
couple feet away from me, someone had made quite an offensive remark.
Apparently, this boy had the audacity to say behind my back that all Chinese
people are fat. Now, I am a Chinese person, and everyone in the class knows
it. Saying that even in front of me would be very offensive, but behind my back
is even more messed up. One of the girls in my class overheard this comment
and told me. When I heard what the boy said, I froze. I didn’t know what to
do, and my heart started pounding. I had never dealt with bullies or mean
comments before. Time stopped, and I just stood there, frozen. But soon,
I snapped out of my shock and was thinking of what to do. It was like a fire
of fury and sadness had lit, and I wasn’t going to let it die down. I thought
about telling the teacher, but I was shy. I didn’t like getting people in trouble,
so saying nothing seemed like the best option in my mind. But I felt leaving
this matter at rest didn’t make it any better. So I took a risk and walked up to
him. I asked, “Did you say all Chinese people are fat?” and he said, “NO.” I
got even madder because I could tell he was lying, and I needed this solved.
I brought him up to the teacher and told her about this comment. She told
him that it wasn’t okay and that offensive comments wouldn’t be tolerated. I
felt good afterwards, but he wasn’t happy. You could tell that he was mad, but
I didn’t care because he stopped saying nasty things about me and never said
bad things about anyone else.
“This small act of
courage made a
big difference in
my life, and it has
revealed a new layer
of me that I didn’t
know existed.”
This act was for me one of my most courageous. I never realized that I had
courage in me because I never had to use it before, so it really taught me how
to use courage. Also, this taught me to be more outspoken and to have the
courage to stand up to someone when you know they are wrong. This small
act of courage made a big difference in my life, and it has revealed a new
layer of me that I didn’t know existed. One act of courage can literally change
you, as it did for me.
The Courage of Children: Boston and Beyond
Volume XXXI
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