The Courage of Children: Boston and Beyond XXXIII

ALI BARRIE
MATTHEW BREWER, TEACHER
Covenant Preparatory School, Hartford, CT
There were nearly one hundred pairs of eyes looking straight at my face. Have
you ever overcome fear by using courage? I have. It was a sunny day in May
2022. I had already submitted my essay about cultural diversity to the
Hartford Creative Contest. I won a prize! At first, I was ecstatic, but when
I was dropped off at the Mark Twain House, the fear overtook me. I was going
to read a part of my essay to a full crowd! I was sweating on the inside. I was
scared to read my speech to the crowd, but then I developed the courage from
inspirational people to read it with confidence. I believe that courage doesn’t
exist without fear.
This all started when I decided to write an essay about cultural diversity for the
Hartford Creative Contest. I was very eager to get a good result, so I tried my
very best. It wasn’t until the month of May that I received my results. When we
arrived, my father dropped me, my mother, and my little brother off at the
Mark Twain House. As I entered, I was immediately given great news! Two of
my friends, Reik and Lincoln, also won prizes! We entered the room, sat down,
and listened until it was our turn. I went up and read part of my award-winning
speech to the crowd. Although I showed some fear, I overcame it and read my
essay about different cultures in front of everyone!
“I BUILT UP THE
COURAGE TO DENY
SELF-DOUBT.”
That is why I do not think showing courage is possible without fear. A proverb
says, “Fear and courage are brothers.” You and I cannot name a time when
we showed something other than courage to overcome fear. From this event,
I learned that courage is very important to me because it will help me crush
every single one of my fears. You can think of fear as the little brother and
courage as the older brother. The older brother is aiding the younger brother.
During that event, I had mixed emotions. At one point, I was really doubtful
because I feared public speaking. I was also nervous about the crowd’s
reaction. The only way to overcome my fear of public speaking was by
showing courage, and I took courage from my teachers. During the event,
I thought that there may have been some people in the crowd showing signs
of disapproval. I had many thoughts of doubting myself, too. I built up the
courage to deny self-doubt. I gained courage by thinking of all the people who
are inspirational to me, like my brother and teachers. I also thought of
courageous book characters, like Maniac Magee. Nelson Mandela once said,
“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it.
The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that
fear.” That quote is exactly how I felt. I thought about inspirational people,
and that helped me conquer my fear with courage. After I finished reading
my speech, the crowd gave me a standing ovation.
THE COURAGE OF CHILDREN: BOSTON AND BEYOND
VOLUME XXXIII
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