Kindness Writing Contest
Starting the week before Thanksgiving until winter break, our Focus classes discussed the meaning of kindness. Students participated in a canned food drive for local families and gathered over 2,000 items of food which was enough to feed twenty families over the winter break. Since Madison students collected so many items, each family received 100 items of food and toiletries along with an extra bag of groceries. We also held our first Random Acts of Kindness week where students wrote down different acts of kindness that they acted upon, received or witnessed on paper leaves to create a kindness tree.
For our second writing contest, students were asked to write a real or imagined story about kindness. The following students won awards:
1st place Emma L. ($25.00)
2nd place Raynie J. ($15.00)
3rd place Megan E. ($10.00)
The following is student Raynie J.’s winning entry:
It’s Better to Remember
This is the time, this is the time we find out what’s wrong with my grandpa and the test came back. After a long day of sixth grade I come home to see my mom crying talking to who I think is my grandma but could be anyone. That’s when I see the word forming in my moms cracked voice say “chemo” this is no new word to me, my mom, grandma, grate-grandma, great aunt and a countless of others had to go through this horrific thing that all leads back to “cancer”
I don’t know how bad the cancer is and at this point I don’t care. The next thing I know is that I’m in my bedroom crying on the floor and that’s when my door opens to my teary eyed mom telling me it’s going to be okay when I know it’s not. I remember my grandpa saying “cancer is curse on the bell family” and, right know I think that might be true.
After my mom explains what has happened to my grandpa to my siblings, hearing only soft weeps on both sides but I don’t shed s tear, not because I’m not sad it’s because I know it will make it worse and one of my best strengths is holding my emotions back. My loving grandpa I think who I have know to be strong willed and good hearted is know suffering from what now I name the grate sacrifice. One of the most unfair prices to pay is cancer.
After countless weeks of my mom leaving to see my grandparents every weekend it’s starting to become a life style, I don’t need to ask anymore if she is leaving because I already know.
(4 months later)
My grandpa is doing good for what I have heard but, “for the pas few weeks it’s like he is doing worse and getting sicker” my mom said. There doing a scan on him tomorrow and his results should come back on Friday witch is in 3days and that means 1 month until school ends.
When I get off the bus on Friday I see my mom waiting there like she needs to tell me something so, I run to her thinking that she will tell me something exiting but then I remember my grandpas results coming in today. I ask my mom ” is papa okay “‘she is surprised because of how I remember and that’s when her mood changes to teary eyed and manages to say ” Raynie they have stopped the chemo ” and she dose not have to say another word before it all clicks. He has ether stopped his chemo because he is cured or because it’s spread but how can it have spread, he was doing so good. I can’t think and that when my mom tells me the cancer has spread.
I remember how every day walking into school feeling like a battle field, how much I missed. How I missed the Cost trip in school, how I missed every Friday and how i missed a lot of birthday party’s. To see my grandpa get worse after the weeks, his body getting thinner, his life getting shorter and his hope like mine getting lesser.
The last night I saw him was a hard night I lot of family was over at my grandmas house and my grandpa couldn’t walk. Me my dad and my sister and her baby didn’t have a place to sleep and my mom was going to stay and comfort my
grandma so we went to my aunts house and luckily my older cousin was on a church trip so I slept in his bed while my dad slept down stairs.
When I woke up I saw my mom and my dad right then I new something was wrong. My mom said “papa passed away today” hardly keeping her tears in but I didn’t cry I guess I’m strong and I new he was in a better place and that I had to expend that. I have to be strong it’s a little act of kindness I could do for her.
When I got to my grandmas house sadness filled the room as everyone was conferring the family and I thought this is what kindness really was. We as a family will never let one and another down.
(At the end of summer)
Today is when I spend a week with my grandma. I know there will be a lot of tears. Ever since the funeral I always think my grandpa is coming back soon but I know I’m lying to myself.
Me and my grandma are going to a play but today out of all is the worse because it’s my grandmas and grandpas wedding anniversary so it’s tough. When we are driving my grand ma brakes down. I want to lie and say its all right but I know it’s not so I tell her…
“It’s never going to be okay” I start this surprises her but I continue It’s not right that he is not here with you even if he is in a better place, so if anyone tells you it’s okay there a liar. No one can fix this not even you people say it’s better to forget but I would rather remember because sometimes remembering is the best thing to do and only you can make the pain it better than it already is.