The Courage of Children: Boston and Beyond XXX

Weian Xue
Aaron Cohen, Teacher
Jackson Mann K-8 School
I’ve never been bullied, never been in a foster home, never got so sick I had to
go to the hospital. Yet I think I have had courage before. Do you think looking
out the window of a tall building is courageous? Well, it is if you’re afraid of
heights. That’s one of my acts of courage. Every act of courage counts, no
matter if it is big or small.
My biggest fear is heights. If I happen to be in a tall building, I will suddenly
feel like I have to go to the bathroom. In the event of me putting my hands
on the glass, I will start thinking the glass will shatter and I will fall out of the
building. On my trip to Japan in December 2019, I went to the Tokyo Skytree,
a 2,080 foot tall building. I believe it is there that I had courage.
Given my fear of heights, I was intimidated by the thought of being so high
up, but I didn’t want to be left out. However, as soon as I got to the top floor of
the skyscraper I felt the need to go to the bathroom. After I went, I felt a little
better, but I didn’t want to go near the window. Eventually I thought to myself:
“What’s the point of visiting if I’m not even going to check it out?” I thought it
would be a waste of time and money to come all this way and not see the views.
Using tiny steps and shaky legs, I inched towards the windows.
There was a beautiful sight awaiting me. It was the Golden Hour, meaning the
part of the day right after sunrise or sunset. Tokyo was stunning from above.
This must be what it feels like for birds to fly over everything and look at the
tiny lights and cars in the distance. You could see miles of Tokyo from here,
even the silhouette of the mountains in the distance. What’s more, there was a
bit of fog and clouds high up, making the landscape seem mystical.
I’m not saying that as long as you have courage, you’ll overcome your fears.
That wasn’t the case for me. To this day, I still haven’t gotten over my fear
of heights. But perhaps I’m not so scared anymore, after experiencing what
courage feels like. Courage doesn’t mean overcoming your fears. Courage
doesn’t mean doing something heroic and brave. Courage means being scared
and doing it anyway.
The Courage of Children: Boston and Beyond
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