Courage in My Life
Sixth Grade ProgramSample Essays from Max Warburg Fellows
The following essays represent a selection of past years' Max Warburg Fellows and their courage essays. Be sure to check back occasionally as we will be updating the selection from time to time to highlight other students.
Thomas, Maurice J. Tobin K-8 School, 1998
A time I had courage in my life was when I was coming home from the store with my brothers.
There was a man in a wheelchair who asked us to help him across the street. I was nervous because my brothers walked by him without helping him, but I thought about it for awhile. Then I released the brakes on his wheelchair and helped him across the street. He offered me two dollars, but I didn't take it and left.
When I got home, my brothers told on me. Although I got in trouble, I was glad I had helped someone in need. I think that it's okay to do something, even though you don't have to, and other people walk by. That's a time I had courage in my life.
Toya, William B. Rogers Middle School, 2004
Courage is standing up for what you believe in. It is daring to be different, even if people make fun of you. Courage is standing up for what is right. I know some of my family members showed courage. All the trouble started thirty years ago.
My grandma is white and my grandpa is black. They live in an all black neighborhood in Boston. Some of the people on their street did not approve of their relationship, so they did a lot of harmful things to my family. There were some kids who poured sugar into the gas tank of the car, threw rocks at the house, and called my grandparents mean names. This went on for years, but my family stated in the same house. And to me, they showed a lot of courage.
In conclusion, my grandma and grandpa were very courageous people. They could have moved away, but they knew that was not the solution. They continued to live in the same house. Today, they do not have racial problems because people got to know them for who they are, not by the color of their skin. My grandparents made my neighborhood a better place to live.
Diamond, Lilla G. Frederick Pilot K-8 School, 2009
I once showed courage when I did the right thing after deciding to make a bad choice. I stole something from a store in the winter of last year. I did this because I didn't have any money and my mom didn't get paid until the following week. So I took matters into my own hands, which was a bad alternative.
Afterwards, I told my older cousin. She said, "Why would you do something so stupid? Return what you took." I felt so horrible that I went back into the store right away. I walked in the store, returned the item I had taken and said, "I apologize for stealing and will never do this again." The owner was calm and let me have the chips because I told the truth.
How does this show courage? Well, there are two examples of courage in my story. The first is when I took a risk by bringing back the item I stole. The second is when my older, more mature cousin showed courage by persuading me to return the item and helping me make the right choice in the end. I learned a deep lesson, which was to never take anything that isn't yours without asking, because the weight of the guilt is the worst consequence you could suffer.