Good Life Award - Winners
2008
Good Life Award Writing Contest
Honorable Mention
Nathan Lee
8th Grade, Valley View Middle School
| As teens we hear teachers and parents constantly say, “Get involved.” This sounds like a great idea, but it’s much harder to decide where to put your effort. Most people say that we can’t make a difference, that we’re just kids. After all, we can’t drive, our parents still control what we do, we’re busy, and we don’t have enough money. There’s one thing that we do have: big dreams. We want to change the world. My goal was to get involved in a big way. Every three seconds an African child under the age of five dies from starvation. That’s six hundred children every thirty minutes. When I found out that my church was having the 30 Hour Famine, I thought this might be my big chance to make a difference. But I worried that I might be unbearably bored, hungry, and working towards a hopeless cause. That was before I learned that I could save the life of an African child by taking part in the 30 Hour Famine. My church youth group didn’t eat for thirty hours. We raised enough money to feed hungry children for a couple years and got a taste of what they have to go through. We still had luxuries that they are deprived of. They have to walk up to eight miles to get water that might be contaminated. We only had to walk about ten feet to get clean, pure water. They had to worry if the LRA Rebel Army would come and kill them. We safely slept in a locked church. You don’t have to fast for a whole thirty hours to help those dying children. Skip just one meal to be aware of what they go through. Many people pledged a certain amount of money for every hour we fasted. Other people donated to the cause. Right now your parents might seem more of a hindrance, but without them, not one element of this plan is possible. My parents donated money and drove me through a major snowstorm to get there. To succeed, you have to work hard, but it can be fun if you choose for it to be. All the teens who participated had fun. We shoveled people’s walks, had snowball fights, and played in the snow. We all had a meaningful weekend. We watched videos about world hunger and had silent time to think about what we experienced. I could say, “To have a successful life you need to get involved.” It’s more important to find what is meaningful to you and make a big difference. This plan if achieved will lead to a successful life, but just remember: If you have big dreams you can go far by helping others. I hope after you have journeyed many miles down life’s path you can say, “Like Dottie Yeck, I had a great life and made a big difference!” |