2004 First Place Winning Essay
What is Courage?
An essay by Caitlin Plahn
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| Sergeant Henry Boggs, Orange County Lodge Five, presents $1,500.00 award to Caitlin Plahn, 2004 Essay Contest Winner. Caitlin attends Bonita Vista Middle School in Chula Vista, California. Caitlin's teacher is Jerelyn Johnson. |
Slowly the officer
drew his gun while his partner moved quietly around the disheveled man
who was holding a knife to the throat of a young child. Both officers
had only one thought, save the child, no matter the personal threat to
their own lives. In such a scenario courage is easy to define when one
thinks of a police officer facing a hostage situation or a fire fighter
entering an inflamed building, or even a soldier in the midst of dangerous
warfare. However, oftentimes courage is found in an ordinary, untrained
person confronting overwhelming obstacles.
Many
ordinary people demonstrate courage when they are suddenly faced with
a fatal illness or disability. One such person is my Aunt Pam who was
diagnosed with throat cancer seven years ago. She now must constantly
wear a neck brace to support her head, as a result of the surgery to remove
the cancer cells in her throat. Additionally, the radiation absorbed by
her body has destroyed her salivary glands, which means she no longer
has saliva to lubricate her mouth and help with the swallowing of her
food. The lack of saliva has also made her teeth incredibly brittle, in
other words, they break easily and often. Through all of this she has
demonstrated courage by keeping her sense of humor and determination to
beat this dreaded disease. Thus, my Aunt Pam is an ordinary person who
showed courage in confronting overwhelming obstacles.
Now
imagine, a person who wakes up, dresses for work, and while driving to
the office is involved in an accident whereby he or she ends up paralyzed
from the waist down and confined to a wheelchair. People are used to a
certain routine in their everyday lives where they can simply jump out
of bed and complete everyday tasks without even realizing how difficult
it would be if their body was disabled and couldn't perform them. Those
ordinary people that face abrupt changes in their lifestyles, such as
a car accident that leads to paralysis, show a great deal of courage by
adapting to the new situation and still having a positive outlook. If
a person is confined to a wheelchair, he quickly learns that he cannot
complete his everyday chores such as making his bed or driving the car
down to the local laundromat quite as easily. People who need wheelchairs
oftentimes need an assistant to aid them by opening doors for them or
even just pushing them around. Overall, ordinary people, who are suddenly
faced with such disabilities as paralysis or amputated limbs, display
courage every day by adapting to their new and more difficult lifestyles.
While
the previous two examples of courage are exemplary, perhaps the most tragic
example is an ordinary parent who deals with the unexpected death of a
child. It matters not the method of death-drowning, car accident, serious
illness, or birth defect-a parent must continue through these times of
grief and sorrow. What incredible courage it must take to force oneself
to get out of bed, only to realize that his or her beloved child is not
in the room next to them. A person who once yearned for a simple "Mommy,
I love you!" must now come to the realization that those words will never
again be spoken. Once again, an ordinary person is forced to exhibit courage
while going through a shattering life event.
Adults,
on the other hand, are not the only ones forced to display courage when
faced with obstacles. Every year many students audition for sports teams,
roles in plays and singing groups, in hopes of achieving what they tried
out for. The courage that it takes to audition for these things is usually
overlooked, but if they know that they probably are not the most experienced
and may not be one of those few who are selected, auditioning can be very
nerve-racking. I especially can relate to this when I tried out for a
basketball team and competed against many experienced players, but just
did the best that I could do, and in the end made the team. Also, I was
extremely nervous when I auditioned for my school's advanced chorus because
I am very shy when it comes to singing in front of people. However, I
built up the courage to conquer my fear and was rewarded by being asked
to join the choir. Although at first glance it may not seem difficult,
myself and many other students who try out for sports teams, play roles,
and singing groups are well aware of the large amount of courage that
it takes to try out even if you're not one of the best at the audition.
Clearly,
we as a society expect our firefighters, police officers, and soldiers
to be courageous, which they most definitely are. Nonetheless, while these
people are our heroes, oftentimes it is an ordinary man, woman, or child
who demonstrates amazing courage while facing personal tragedies or obstacles.
Courage can be manifested by retaining one's sense of humor, maintaining
a positive outlook, and by adapting to different circumstances. Writer
Dorothy Thompson sums it up best when she says, "Courage, it would seem,
is nothing less than the power to overcome danger, misfortune, fear, injustice,
while continuing to affirm inwardly that life with all its sorrows is
good…and that there is always tomorrow."
Caitlin
Plahn
Bonita Vista Middle School
650 Otay Lakes Road
Chula Vista, CA 91910
Teacher: Jerelyn Johnson
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