Love Laws of Life

Hubby and I went to a really cool thing last night.

He is on the board of our local Better Business Bureau, hereafter known as the BBB. Every now and then we go to some sort of event for them - usually a fund raiser. But, last night was different.

We went to an awards ceremony for this program the BBB sponsors. It's an essay contest called "Laws of Life." Basically, it's for middle school students and their task is to write an essay explaining what they think the most important "laws of life" are and why. I wasn't sure what to think of it, but going meant I didn't have to cook, which is a plus since, remember, I currently don't own a working dishwasher. Off we go.

To my delight, we were there with several old friends, whom we sat with during dinner and caught up on life.

The bulk of the presentation was devoted to the eight essay finalists. Oh, wait, only AFTER Hubby got recognized as a "dignitary" - ha! Of course, he then informed me that I have to be nice to him now because he's a "dignitary." Uh-huh. Anyway, each essay finalist and their supporting teacher received cash prizes AND the students got other prizes, such as gift certificates, etc. Plus, two schools were recognized for having either the most students participate or having the highest percentage of students participate, and they got cash prizes, too. Life lesson: cash is good.

But, by far, my favorite part of the evening was the recognition of the students and their essays. I was amazed, not only by their writing skills, but by what they had already had to rise above and overcome in their young lives and the lessons they'd learned in the process. They recognized each student, awarded prizes, and gave a summary and the title of the student's essay.

Here's how some of them went:

A couple of students wrote about their parents divorcing and how they had to be brave and believe in themselves to get through that. Another very young student wrote about the courage it took after one of his parents went to prison when he was a toddler and the other parent died. He was sent to foster care for a while until his grandparents were able to take him. Then, the 1st and 2nd place winners each spoke about how the deaths of their mothers had taught them to be strong, brave, and presevere through life's difficulties. Wow is all I can say,

When I was their age, the worst thing I had to overcome was getting a zit in the middle of my face. Huh?

I was completely amazed at these students' willingness to write about such deeply personal and difficult things. The top 3 finalists actually read their essays to the audience. Lots of tears were shed. Again, wow.

My take: first of all, I applaud the BBB for sponsoring such an event. So many people have such negative things to say about this generation and are so "worried" about them. It's so fantastic that an organization like the BBB has taken an active role in helping to shape these young people into the citizens they truly want to be and that we need them to be. Bravo, BBB! And, to the students, I say thanks. You showed great maturity, depth, and courage to be able to survive these tramatic events in your few years of life, then to actually stick your necks out and tell the public about them. Keep taking those chances, be brave, be strong. I believe in you. You are our future and, I say, thr future looks bright!