The Courage of Children: Boston and Beyond XXX
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Imtiaz Ahmad<br />
Sara Coyle, Teacher<br />
Beverly Hills Academy, Beverly Hills, MI<br />
<strong>Courage</strong> to me is when you are st<strong>and</strong>ing up for yourself <strong>and</strong> talking to<br />
someone about a problem like bullying, such as screaming at people for just a<br />
small mistake. It’s not being scared to do what you want to do, <strong>and</strong> way more.<br />
When I was sitting down <strong>and</strong> talking to my friends at the end <strong>of</strong> a soccer<br />
game, the coach started screaming at the whole team because <strong>of</strong> our loss <strong>and</strong><br />
how we all made a mistake. My heart was pounding, my eyes in shock. I was<br />
going to walk up to him <strong>and</strong> say, “Can you not scream at the team? We just<br />
made a mistake.” But he did not let me speak. He said, “Stay in your seat<br />
<strong>and</strong> be quiet!”<br />
Later that day I was trying to practice my skills, but I couldn’t focus because<br />
I was really stressed out <strong>and</strong> sad about the loss <strong>of</strong> our game <strong>and</strong> our coach<br />
screaming in our faces. I was trying to ignore it, but I could not because <strong>of</strong><br />
how scared <strong>and</strong> depressed I was. When I was trying to sleep on my comfy bed<br />
I thought to myself “What can I do to make the coach not be mad that easily<br />
at the team again? Oh! I got it! I could be courageous.” But then I thought<br />
again <strong>and</strong> said to myself that being courageous is hard. However, I did not<br />
give up that easily.<br />
When I arrived for another soccer game I was waiting to talk to my coach.<br />
When I got to the game I saw him with my friends on the old stinky rusty<br />
bench. When I walked to him the coach told me to go in the game because<br />
someone had a bad injury. “But…,” I said s<strong>of</strong>tly. “GO!” the coach shouted in<br />
my face. I was thinking not to say “No” in my head, but I said “No” because I<br />
had courage in my heart. When I said “No” my coach was shocked. I told him<br />
that I needed to talk to him, so he sent my friend into the game. In a s<strong>of</strong>t voice<br />
I said that people make mistakes all the time, <strong>and</strong> you should not get mad <strong>and</strong><br />
scream at eleven <strong>and</strong> twelve-year-old boys. When we went back to the game<br />
we were winning. <strong>The</strong> other coach was helping the team. After, the coach<br />
said, “Good job in the game, boys. You did well <strong>and</strong> you should be happy for<br />
yourselves.” Everyone was in shock at how nice the coach was. <strong>The</strong> whole team<br />
was happy, even the coach, because <strong>of</strong> courage.<br />
<strong>The</strong> <strong>Courage</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Children</strong>: <strong>Boston</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Beyond</strong><br />
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