2006 — 6th Grade - 1st Place
Audrey Berdahl-Baldwin, Minnesota
Hope is more powerful than fear. It has
guided people since the beginning of time, and has lit the darkest
days. Hope allows us to imagine a better future and fuels our
spirit to pursue it, regardless of its chances. Fear can be very
powerful, motivating us to avoid pain, risk, and danger. Fear
is a defensive human reaction which can often lead people to do
things at the expense of others. Hope, on the other hand, is a
creative part of the human spirit which can bring out the best
in people. Hope can be a spark towards an individual goal or dream,
but is also a big part of what inspires powerful ideas that can
benefit everyone.
Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" speech is a great
example of hope for a better future. This kind of hope can foster
faith and move people to action. Dr. King's "I may not be
there with you…" speech, shows us how this kind of
hope cannot be defeated even by the death of a person, because
the hope is about the greater good. The civil rights movement
is a wonderful way to see how the power of hope can shine even
in a state of fear, and will bring out the best in people and
can make the world better. I hope for a world without war. Even
though this has never happened, and is often seen as impossible,
many people hope for this and try to live their lives in pursuit
of it.
In my life I have spent a lot of time with fear and hope. Six
years ago, my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. Despite our
fear we hoped the cancer would not return, and for three years
it did not. The recurrence, which is called, metastasis, meant
the cancer was never going to leave completely, and no one that
we knew of had lived longer than a year. This situation seemed
hopeless, and created a lot of fear. Regardless of the circumstances,
we kept on hoping. My mom had eleven surgeries, a broken neck,
vision loss, and has nearly died several times. Yet through all
of this, she is alive and doing extremely well. Hope does not
just help us seek a better future; it helps us love one another
now without being overcome by fear. Because of my mom, my family
"has a dream" for a cancer-free tomorrow, and not just
for us. Hope is more powerful than fear.
Kids
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