The Courage of Children: Boston and Beyond XXXI

Aliana Paquette
Sabina Kozak, Teacher
Our Sisters’ School, New Bedford, MA
What is courage? “I learned that courageousness was not the absence of fear,
but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but
he who conquers that fear.” Nelson Mandela once said this. I can connect with
this quote because it is true and inspirational.
I was born with a mother. Just a mother. No father. My father left before I was
even born. My mother raised me alone for about eight years. I love her for
that. During those eight years, she was working and making money to take
care of herself and me. My grandmother had to take care of me a lot, but she
didn’t mind. I was always a people pleaser, even as a baby! My mom barely
got any time to herself due to having to work a lot and having a baby. She
provided me with food, drinks, toys, a good education, activities to do after
school, clothes, an apartment (now a house), love and life. I am so thankful
for her. She did this all with only one income and rarely asked for help from
her parents. My mother is the best thing that ever happened to me. My
mother is courageous.
Although I might not have been as courageous as my mother, I am still
courageous. When I was eight years old I was scared of werewolves. They
absolutely freaked me out with their sharp teeth, massive bodies, long scruffy
ears, big feet with even bigger claws on them, their yellow beady eyes and their
want for flesh. My mother and I moved in with her boyfriend when I was eight.
He only had three rooms for five people. So, it was easiest for me to share a
room with her boyfriend’s youngest son, since his eldest son already had his
own room. His youngest son and I shared a bunk bed. My stepbrother slept on
the top, and I slept on the bottom. One night my stepbrother fell asleep on
the couch and it was a full moon, so being me, I decided to sleep on the top
because I thought it would be harder for the werewolf to get me. I woke up in
the morning and heard yelling and doors slamming. I was scared. I faced the
wall and put the blankets over my head.
“I broke the mental
walls that were
keeping me from
seeing that I was
being my best
self and that I
was enough.”
Ever since then, I thought that no one (besides my mom) wanted me to be
successful or wanted me to be the best version of myself. I accepted that as my
truth and went on with my life. A couple months later, I finally broke down. I
broke the mental walls that were keeping me from seeing that I was being my
best self and that I was enough. That day, I was courageous. That day, I figured
out that I didn’t care what anyone else thought as long as I thought I was good
enough. I am courageous for finally accepting myself and allowing myself to
heal from that difficult moment in my life.
Soon enough, I heard my mother screaming at me, telling me to pack my bags
because we were getting thrown out. That night I thought to myself, “It wasn’t
the werewolf coming to get me and gobble me up like I was a big, juicy piece
of steak. It was someone real, someone I knew, someone who always wanted
the best for me, and well, now they didn’t.”
The Courage of Children: Boston and Beyond
Volume XXXI
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