The Courage of Children: Boston and Beyond XXXIII

AMINA AWAN
BRENDAN MORRISON, TEACHER
Al-Noor Academy, Mansfield, MA
Courage can come in many forms, and for many people, it doesn’t have to be
like a lion roaring in their ears loudly. Sometimes, it’s the little voice at the end
of the day telling you to go on, saying that it’s proud of you. Courage doesn’t
take just bravery, although that alone is a great thing to have and can
encourage you to become courageous. (It’s a huge factor!) But it requires time
and determination.
I had a friend, once, who mistreated me greatly. They made me feel bad about
myself, and often, I found myself upset over their messages and rude
comments. I seemed to be uncomfortable talking to them or being around
them. They always had something to say or add, even if it wasn’t needed and
was always negative, never positive or appreciative. I don’t think they showed
gratitude at all, either. They never seemed to stop speaking, nothing but
mockery and blatant lies, and didn’t show remorse for anything they’d caused,
no matter the severity.
I told them how disrespectful they were, not just to me, but to other people,
and they didn’t seem to care and disregarded my feelings. Sometimes, they did
apologize, but whenever they did, it seemed sarcastic or forced, like a weird
joke. Even if they showed effort or at least tried to replicate empathy in their
apologies, they later admitted that they meant nothing said. I don’t remember
if they meant it at the time of apologizing, but I know that they don’t now.
“COURAGE DOESN’T
JUST WORK WITH
A SNAP OF YOUR
FINGERS OR WITH A
MAGICAL CHANT.”
Courage helped me in various different ways, and I don’t have a lot of extra
words to add about it, but this perhaps will inspire people to be courageous.
Courage doesn’t just work with a snap of your fingers or with a magical chant.
It takes you gathering your bravery and taking the time and determination to
bring about an act of courage. And for me, it took a lot. I’ve been much
happier since then, and I’ve made new friends and surrounded myself with
people who really do appreciate me, rather than people who shunned me and
made me feel bad.
I tried to talk things out, but it irritated me that we were still friends. Nothing
was changing. I was still pretty disappointed with our friendship, and I had had
enough. Is it better to have no friends, or friends who make you feel bad about
yourself no matter the scenario or instance? If they deemed my attempts to talk
about how I felt to be futile, then I would be done.
That day, when I came home, I sent them a message telling them I’d prefer
that we not interact like we used to. I always had to reach out to them first;
they never talked to me first. That in itself may not be a bad thing, but to me,
it was clear that they had no empathy or feelings of understanding about my
emotions. They didn’t talk to me because they didn’t care about me. Though
it felt bad sending them that message, it had to be done. Now, I don’t feel
guilty, and instead, proud. I dodged a bullet.
THE COURAGE OF CHILDREN: BOSTON AND BEYOND
VOLUME XXXIII
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