The Courage of Children: Boston and Beyond XXXIII

ESILA NAZ ILGIN
MELIS AKAR, TEACHER
Kaynarca Ortaokulu/Hisar Okullari, Kirklareli Province, Turkey
To me, courage isn’t demonstrated by saying, only by doing. One day, in my
Turkish literature class, our teacher asked who would want to memorize and
perform the national anthem. No one wanted to recite the entire anthem, and
they thought it would be embarrassing. I thought that I could perform the
anthem, but I was afraid that my friends would say, “You can’t do it, you would
get scared, and you can’t memorize it.” Nevertheless, I raised my hand and
volunteered. Our teacher was very happy.
“AS EVERYONE STARTED
CLAPPING, I GOT
VERY EXCITED. I AM
SO HAPPY THAT I
WAS COURAGEOUS
THAT DAY.”
Immediately, I started practicing, even though I had only one day. I already
knew the first three stanzas. I continued reciting when I got home. I successfully
memorized the first eight stanzas, but no matter what I did, I couldn’t
remember the last two. I started crying as I tried memorizing a single word
for fifteen minutes.
Then it was the day of my performance. I took my place on stage and
immediately started trembling. The whole school was suddenly staring at me,
watching my every move. But I got courageous and recited the national
anthem. As everyone started clapping, I got very excited. I am so happy that
I was courageous that day. You shouldn’t be afraid to show courage, either;
courage isn’t through what’s said, it’s through what’s done.
THE COURAGE OF CHILDREN: BOSTON AND BEYOND
VOLUME XXXIII
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