The Courage of Children: Boston and Beyond XXXIII

Zoom as I was leaving the hospital. From the moment I met her on Zoom,
I knew she was going to be one of the best teachers ever. (And I was right!)
When I got home, I felt so good, and my sore heart finally started to heal. I
finally had a comfortable bed, I finally was able to swing on my swing set and
listen to music, and with that, I got relief from those terrible moments. I felt
free, even better than before. I remember holding a phone for the first time in
a month, and it felt so heavy and big. I felt the happiest I had ever been that
day, when I was freed from what felt like a cage that I would never be able to
leave. I thought I’d never see my family again, or my friends from school, who
I missed. I hoped their lives had been going better than mine had been, since
it was the start of the pandemic. When I got home, my mom was in tears.
“I didn’t know if my baby was gonna be okay! I missed you, one month
without my baby was devastating,” my mom cried to me. I missed my mom
and my brother so much. I had felt so alone because I ended up having
nobody while I was there.
Life moved on: third grade, fourth grade, fifth grade, and now sixth grade.
I finally feel happy, my heart no longer hurts, and my eyes have been given
back their glow. I feel free, I can move around, and I’m not restricted to little
interaction. I feel happy and free, all because I know I won’t go back to that
horrible place, and I know I am strong enough to push through those moments.
I now have friends and amazing teachers. I’m trying my hardest in school,
and things have gone well.
Now that I look back on it, those problems may have caused distress in the
moment, but they opened up doors for me, doors with light beaming from
them. Doors with hope instead of despair. I’m grateful that I can now see the
positives that came from the negatives of my troubles. The best outcome of this
was that I’m now social enough to make friends, and even a few best friends.
Before the troubles, I only had four friends, but now, I have seven! I made a lot
of those friends in third grade, too, which means I was strong enough to go on
even right after the incident.
My definition of courage is being able to persevere even when you feel like
you’re incapable of going on. I showed courage by persevering even when times
were the roughest they’d ever been for me, and ending up in the place I am
today despite my struggles in life. I’ve shown courage throughout the past four
years, since the first time I went to that hospital, and even now, dealing with life
and what I’ve been through. The lesson I learned is that the process of courage
isn’t always blue skies, but it doesn’t mean it’ll always be gray skies. I was not
ashamed to ask for help with my mental health, and I was not ashamed to get
help for my safety or needs. If you ever need help, then don’t be scared or
ashamed to ask. You should always do what’s best for you.
THE COURAGE OF CHILDREN: BOSTON AND BEYOND
VOLUME XXXIII
86 87