The Courage of Children: Boston and Beyond XXXIII

SELENA ST. PIERRE-OLIVEIRA
SABINA KOZAK, TEACHER
Our Sisters’ School, New Bedford, MA
Courage is in everyone, whether they know it or not. To me, courage is being
brave and also being an upstander to others. It means facing hard things.
Courage can be big or small. Even though you’re scared, you can still be
courageous. I’ve been courageous multiple times in my life because I’ve had
to overcome many obstacles. Some obstacles were in my past, and some I am
still facing today.
My dad was very courageous. Before my siblings were born, he built the house
my eight siblings and I grew up in so we wouldn’t have to live on the streets.
One time, my dad had to go to the hospital even though he didn’t want to, but
he knew it was the right thing to do, so he went to get better. My dad had a nail
in his foot, but that didn’t stop him from continuing to build our house. My dad
was a very brave, strong, and powerful man. I wish I could have said that to
him before he died.
When I was six years old, my three younger siblings moved to different houses
because they got taken into foster care. It was sad for me because I have been
with them since they were born. I was now the youngest sibling. It was sad for
everyone in my family because we didn’t see my little brothers and sister often.
When I was nine, my dad got very sick, and I was scared that something might
happen to him. He couldn’t get out of bed, so I helped him if he needed
anything. Eventually, he had to go to the hospital. After three or four weeks,
the hospital called my mom and told her that the doctors couldn’t help my dad
anymore, and that he had died. When my mom came out of her bedroom and
shared the bad news, the whole family was sad. I went to my room and went to
sleep so I could calm down. After he died, I felt sad. We had to accept life
without him.
“DURING ALL OF THESE
MOMENTS, I HAVE
BEEN COURAGEOUS,
AND I HAVE NEVER
GIVEN UP.”
At first, we were really scared. I wanted to go home. I didn’t know what was
happening. Even though things were hard and scary, I remained brave. Every
day, I tried hard and tried to do well in school.
In October, my foster mom told my sister and me that we were switching
schools. It was hard for me to imagine moving to a new school, because I had
gone to my old school my whole life. I knew I would miss my friends and my
teachers there. It was another change that I did not have control over. Even
though I was scared, I accepted this and tried to be open-minded about the
new experience. Now, I feel good about this decision. I like my school.
In my life, I have faced loss, death, challenges, foster care, moving homes,
and switching schools. During all of these moments, I have been courageous,
and I have never given up. I have tried to emphasize the positive and be
happy, even when it is hard.
When I was ten, I got some more sad news. I was at school and I had to go
downstairs to the office. That’s when I was told that I was going into foster care.
The social workers told me they were taking me, my two older sisters, and my
brother, too. After they talked to me, we left to go to my foster home. At first, I
was separated from my brother. Eventually, I was placed in a foster home with
my older sister and brother, and our other sister went to live at a different home.
THE COURAGE OF CHILDREN: BOSTON AND BEYOND
VOLUME XXXIII
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