The Courage of Children: Boston and Beyond XXX

D. Munkh-Orgil
B. Khishigjargal, Teacher
45th Secondary School Of Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
Courage means having the ability to face up to somebody who is mentally
weak and incapable of defending herself. Once I was in the sixth grade when
my father changed his behavior and began drinking. From then on, quarrels
and arguments continued in our family. My mother was pregnant with my
youngest brother. Quite often I saw my parents arguing, and sometimes my
mother was beaten by my dad. At first, I used to be scared of my father and
couldn’t do anything. It was hard to see my mom and siblings crying when
Dad was drunk, and I cried too. I wondered and wondered why my parents
were arguing so much. Because although my father occasionally drank
alcohol, I did not remember my pop beating my mum.
One day I awakened and heard my mother crying, “I can’t accept you
anymore, I cannot be with you, and follow her.” I noticed that my parents
were arguing about another woman who had entered our lives. I understood
why my father drank and why my parents quarreled so often. When I
acknowledged that my father had another woman, I began to hate him. I
realized I should protect my mom, so when my mother reminded my father
about the other woman and waved at her, I defended my mother and went
ahead of her. And when my father slammed the door, I hit my head on
the door. Although I had a nasty headache, I was very proud to be ready to
protect my mother. I could not beat my father, but I tried to be ready to stop
him. While defending my mother, I learned that courage is about protecting
the weak one in difficult situations.
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