Nicco's Lesson from Probation

 

We have a student at Harris Academy who is a great kid. We enjoy having him and he is a role model for other students. He stays out of the "drama" per se, and is often caught trying to talk reason into some of the students. He recently wrote an essay for his English teacher about a lesson he learned through being on probation.  His name has been changed. I think you will enjoy the following short writing prompt.

 

When was the last time you really challenged yourself? I'm not talking about beating some video game on the hardest difficulty, I'm talking about when you went out and made a difference. When was the last time you did that? Sometimes it can be difficult, I know, but like Martin Luther King Jr. once said, "The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy." So if you really want to be measured as a good man then do something difficult and meaningful.

When I was on probation, it was by far the hardest six months of my life. Everyone judged me and thought of me as a hoodlum and projected that I would violate probation seven times before I would finally get sent to jail or something. Everyone told themselves they couldn't trust me and that I was a bad person.  The entire six months I had nothing- my dad took my computer, TV, friends, longboard, and I wasn't even allowed to go to youth group. And because of that, everyone thought I didn't stand a chance in this world. Everyone thought I would lose hope and flunk out of school, get stuck flipping patties at McDonald's or something like that, but I pushed through it and now, here (at Harris Academy), I am doing good in school, staying out of trouble the best I can, and passing classes all day every day. Now just think, how do you want to be measured for what you did in times of challenge and controversy? Do you want to be the man who quit? Or the man who rose above and made the best out of his situation?

For example, in "The Fantastic Mr. Fox" when Mr. Fox gets in too deep with the farmers and gets trapped underground, he's prepared to sacrifice himself so that his family and the rest of the innocent animals can get out alive. Then he realizes his nephew Kristofferson got captured by the farmers, and they go on a rescue mission to save Kristofferson. After they save Kristofferson they realize they are still trapped in the sewers and there's no way out alive, but they don't just give up. They start digging "in a very special direction this time" according to Mr. Fox, and they dig and dig until finally they find where the farmers keep all their livestock and cider. They take it all and continue living a happy rich life in the sewers as the farmers await Mr. Fox's return to the surface. Mr. Fox was truly a good fox.

So next time you think somethings too hard for you or you just don't want to do it, remember "the ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy." And go above and beyond in whatever you are doing.