The Courage of Children: Boston and Beyond XXXIII

MORGAN MULREY
MICHAEL ANDREWS, TEACHER
Barnstable Intermediate School, Barnstable, MA
It all started when I was at my stepmother’s job, and she saw me standing there,
blacked out to the core. For me, it was dark—pitch black—and I really didn’t
hear my stepmother calling my name a million times. “Morgan, Morgan! Are
you all right?” she shouted. It was spring vacation, and I was with my
stepmother the whole week. My stepmother contacted my other parents, Mom
and Dad. I didn’t know what was happening. I was always losing track of where
I was, and my stepmother said that I had mini seizures. Courage to me means
fighting for what you want and standing up for yourself. I show this by living
with my seizure disorder every day.
I was ten years old when I discovered I had a seizure disorder. When I went to
the doctor, she explained what was happening and gave me a prescription to
calm them. I was scared because I thought this was going to affect my whole
life. Would I have normal experiences, like getting my driver’s license? I was
anxious, but my doctor said that my disorder might go away.
When I went to school, it was good for a while. Then, I got to my fifth-grade
class and froze. I didn’t move; I didn’t want my class to know what I had, but it
showed for them when I sat down in my seat. Everyone was looking at me, and
I didn’t know what to do. All I did was stare at my Chromebook, doing nothing.
Some of the kids who were next to me started giggling, and I thought to myself,
They must think that I look like an idiot.
“MY SEIZURE DISORDER
HAS AFFECTED MY
DAILY LIFE AND HAS
MADE THE THINGS
I LOVE TO DO
DIFFICULT. YET, I
PUSH THROUGH.”
lights went dark. Thankfully, I had my friend and my teacher there for support.
I got through the solo, and my parents told me I was amazing. Although it has
been hard, I have found ways to overcome this struggle by having someone
beside me, ready to help.
This experience has taught me that I have the courage to stand up for myself
when others are embarrassing me and making me feel uncomfortable about
who I am. This disorder is part of me, and I have learned to accept it. When
others are pushing you down, remember that there is always a path that leads
you to victory. Find the strength to move forward, and don’t worry about
what others think.
I was embarrassed. All I wanted to do was sink into the ground or burn to
ashes. Worse yet, I didn’t know that my crush was in the same room as me. He
was talking to my teacher and looking at me. He wasn’t giggling—all he did was
look. I didn’t know why, but I had to get out of there. I told my teacher that I
needed to use the ladies’ room. I was heartbroken from all the thoughts running
through my head. Why are they doing this? Why are they so cold hearted? It wasn’t
long before so many showed their real colors.
My seizure disorder has affected my daily life and has made the things I love to
do difficult. Yet, I push through. I love to ride bikes with my family, but seizures
get in the way. I am also part of the chorus and was given a solo in the winter
concert. My nerves were only making things worse, with seizures one by one
before the concert even started. I had my mom and my grandmother to help
me along the way. Once I stepped out for my solo, sounds muffled and the
THE COURAGE OF CHILDREN: BOSTON AND BEYOND
VOLUME XXXIII
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