2012 – 5th Grade National 3rd Place Winner

Maggie Hicks, Virginia.

What is the meaning of life ?

What is the meaning of life? My meaning of life is taking risks and living a life you want to live. Two people that inspired me to try things that I am scared of an to be focused on what I want to do are Martin Luther King Jr. and my cousin Charlie.

Charlie Jackson (my cousin), was a wind surfer in Kitty Hawk Outer banks. He knew if he died from a sport it would be windsurfing. But he liked the sport and wanted to do it. Most people would quit when they found out that they could die from the wind surfing but not Charlie. He loved wind surfing, and every time he fell off the board he got back up and kept going. Then it was the day Charlie would go missing. The waves were very high that day, and Charlie and his friend went out and started surfing. They went for awhile then the waves got much higher and Charlie’s friend said he was done but Charlie went out one more time and he got caught in the waves and he was missing. About a day later his body was found on a beach a couple miles away. Charlie knew wind surfing was a risk and he knew he could die from it but he kept doing the sport because he loved it and that inspired me to do things that I love.

Martin Luther King Jr. was someone else that inspired me to take a different type of risk; to take a risk for something you believe in even if people won’t like it. Martin Luther King Jr. fought for civil rights which was what he believed in. It was a risk to do this because back then people would fight with violence against people with a different skin color or who wanted civil rights for example they arrested many freedom riders, which were people that rode through the south and ignored segregation. Martin Luther King lead peaceful marches and said speeches but never fought with violence.

On April fourth 1968 Martin Luther King Jr., the man who believed, was found on the balcony of his hotel room- dead. He had been assassinated by a man who did not believe in what Martin Luther King believed in. His name was James Earl Ray. Martin Luther King was a man who thought things were wrong so he took a very important risk he fought for what he believed in.

Martin Luther King and Charlie Jackson both took risks for what they believed in and what they wanted to do. They lived completely different lives yet in a way they lived very similar lives. They inspired me to take the risks even if I’m scared of them. They inspired my life to be focused on what I want to do and how I want to live and that’s my meaning of life.

 

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