The Courage of Children: Boston and Beyond XXX

Catherine Tsiantoulas
Joyce Baio, Teacher
Saint Patrick School
You may think that courage is being a hero, but courage can be something
small. Courage can be pushing yourself to do something out of your comfort
zone or something that might even seem embarrassing to do. For example,
courage can be standing up to a bully or talking to someone that you don’t
know that well. Everyone is courageous at different times. Some acts might
seem small, but to you they might be colossal.
My act of courage is not a big one, but it was a huge step for me. I was at my
first gymnastics competition ever, and I was extremely nervous. I felt like I was
going to throw up. Thankfully I didn’t. The first event wasn’t nerve-wracking
for me because it was the uneven bars, and I was, and still am, a bars specialist.
I ended up tying for first place on bars. After that first event, the pain started
to diminish and my anxiety seemed to lessen. Then came the balance beam,
the hardest event, in my opinion, because you are doing gymnastics on a fourinch-wide
beam. I certainly didn’t do great, but it wasn’t too poor. The real act
of courage was what came next.
Floor Exercise was my least favorite event at the time. It is basically a dance
routine combined with tumbling. I was always afraid to practice at my gym
because when someone does a floor routine the entire group of people
watches. I always felt too self-conscious to even attempt practicing in front of
a large group of strangers. I was shaking before I took the spotlight and was
on the verge of tears. I don’t cry a lot, so that’s saying something. The routine
I performed was disgustingly cheesy, and I hated it. I mustered up all my
courage and went out there and did my best. Unfortunately, I didn’t place in
the floor exercise, but that’s okay. After the floor, I was so relieved and satisfied
with my performance. Lastly, my second favorite event is the vault. You
basically run and jump on a springboard, then fling yourself over a vault table.
I was really good at this. I ended up placing fifth in that event.
Even though I wasn’t the best gymnast at the competition, I was still extremely
proud of myself. Real acts of courage are the ones that you find the hardest
to do, not the ones that a superhero does. If you have the courage within you
when facing any challenge, you have the courage to succeed at whatever goal
you set for yourself. The sky’s the limit when courage and perseverance are
partnered to achieve one’s dreams.
The Courage of Children: Boston and Beyond
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