The Courage of Children: Boston and Beyond XXXIII
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
NOORAH A.<br />
KENDALL A., TEACHER<br />
Alhuda Academy, Worcester, MA<br />
On October 7, 2023, a war between Israel <strong>and</strong> Hamas broke out. Thous<strong>and</strong>s<br />
<strong>of</strong> innocent people have been killed, <strong>and</strong> many <strong>of</strong> them were helpless children.<br />
All I could do was watch the television play videos <strong>of</strong> children that were injured<br />
<strong>and</strong> crying—devastated people looking for their family members under the<br />
rubble, bombs, <strong>and</strong> more. I wanted to help them in any way I could, but I felt<br />
useless. I thought showing courage was fighting in wars or rescuing people, <strong>and</strong><br />
these were things that I could not do, but I was wrong. <strong>Courage</strong> can be the<br />
littlest things that you may not even notice.<br />
“WITHOUT EVERY SINGLE PERSON’S<br />
PRESENCE, THE PROTEST WOULD NOT<br />
HAVE HAPPENED, AND THE IMPACT<br />
WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN THE SAME.”<br />
I wanted to help, so I went to a protest. I felt it was a small way for my voice to<br />
be heard. It was also my first protest. It was so crowded. <strong>The</strong> whole street was<br />
filled with protesters chanting, “Ceasefire now!” I felt so small compared to the<br />
crowd. We walked <strong>and</strong> walked for hours. My feet were sore <strong>and</strong> had blisters by<br />
the end, but I pushed myself to keep walking. We walked until the sun had set<br />
<strong>and</strong> the sky had become dark. I thought that I didn’t do anything, that I hadn’t<br />
accomplished anything. But it turned out that the crowd <strong>of</strong> protesters was so<br />
big that it was on the news!<br />
I saw how big the crowd was <strong>and</strong> that the protest was important enough to<br />
make it to the news. I was happy that I was there to be part <strong>of</strong> it <strong>and</strong> to see<br />
it happen. In the moment, I felt so small compared to the crowd, but then<br />
I realized that every person played a part. Without every single person’s<br />
presence, the protest would not have happened, <strong>and</strong> the impact would not<br />
have been the same. Everyone’s voice was heard. Everyone was important.<br />
I was important.<br />
You don’t have to only attend protests. You can also choose to st<strong>and</strong> up in<br />
other ways, too. <strong>The</strong> point is, even small actions are courageous <strong>and</strong> make<br />
a difference.<br />
THE COURAGE OF CHILDREN: BOSTON AND BEYOND<br />
VOLUME <strong>XXXIII</strong><br />
60 61
Change language