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One day, a boy named Chad rode home from school. Chad was 15 years old and was in eighth grade at the public school. He lived in Miami, Florida, with his sister Lily and mother Beatrice. His sister’s school was called Pyrel Prep and she was in tenth grade.
Chad was what his mom liked to call a problem child. He consistently had bad grades and didn’t flow well with the other students. Everyone knew he just didn’t care. Some called him “No Grad Fad Chad” for he was held back 2 times. He was called “Fad” because he always had the finest wardrobe.
When Chad and Lily’s dad passed away, he left their family an unknown fortune that was recovered in his will. So, Lily and Chad always had the finest clothes and accessories.
Lily was a complete opposite of Chad. She worked hard and was very studious. Therefore, her mom allowed her to go to Pyrel Prep where she was better challenged than she was at the public high school. She had many friends and was very busy with after school activities, such as volleyball and dance.
One day, Lily drove home from school with tears in her eyes. She told her mom that they had a very emotional assembly that day. This particular assembly was called “Rachel’s Challenge”.
Chad heard the commotion and joined his mom and sister in the living room, wanting to be included in the excitement. Lily began telling her mom the story of Rachel’s Challenge. Rachel Scott was the first girl shot in the Columbine High School Shooting in 1999. Rachel’s Challenge was about Rachel’s dream of making a difference in the world, being the best you can be and creating a chain reaction of kindness.
In the end, Lily and her mom ended up crying together. While pretending to skim through a magazine, Chad was listening intently to his sister’s story, though trying not to show it. He became deeply moved by Rachel’s story and the fateful day she and others were killed. After Lily finished the story, Chad scampered quickly up to his room. He could not stop thinking about how Rachel made a difference.
After dinner that night, Lily was completing her homework and Chad’s mom was reading the newspaper. Chad sat down by his mom on the couch.
“Why can’t I go to Pyrel Prep, Mom?” he inquired.
“You can’t go to Pyrel Prep because you aren’t responsible enough for yourself and others and you don’t work hard enough to earn satisfactory grades.” She responded.
After that discussion, Chad made a promise to himself that he would strive to be the best he could be. He decided he was going to set an example for others. He decided to be a better person. He decided he did not want to live life as a failing student with a bad reputation.
Little by little, Chad started to change. Everybody noticed too. He had started hanging out with a different group of people and became happier and more fun to be with. Gradually, his grades increased because of his consistent and accurate completion of homework, participation in class and excellent test scores. He tried his best to follow the examples of Rachel’s Challenge and other hard-working students at his school.
At the end of first quarter, Chad brought home his report card. It read that he had jumped from all F’s to B’s! His mom was amazed! She started observing Chad and his after school activities. She concluded that he was using his time to study for school versus everything else he used to do, but she couldn’t think of when “used to” was. “When did this miraculous change start happening?” She thought to herself. She decided to talk to Lily about when “used to” was. After thinking about it, Lily could come up with no better answer than the assembly of Rachel’s Challenge. Her mother agreed, and was very touched of what her son had accomplished.
His teachers also began to notice his skills and conversed with the principal who thought he was worthy of an award. A week after second quarter began his school had an Achievement Assembly. The teachers talked about striving to do your best and showing kindness to everyone. Then, unexpectedly, Chad was called to come down and receive an Achievement Award from the school. He was much honored and shared his achievements with his fellow classmates. His mom knew about the award and came to the assembly. He also shared his inspiration of Rachel’s Challenge.
After his speech, he received a standing ovation. It was wonderful. Chad knew then that he had achieved his goals. His mom asked him if he wanted to go to Pyrel Prep now that he had the required grades and he declined. He declined because he became inspired to make a difference in the lives of his fellow classmates. What it comes down to is that after hearing of Rachel’s Challenge Chad changed. As a result, he became something so much more than what he was. If only everyone else in the world would react the same way Chad did, imagine what the world could be.
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Writer Profile
cms-brionna
I am in 8th grade. I enjoy to write and I am very moved by emotional situations that our youth are involved in. I like to be involved in clubs and activities in my school and area that help to defeat the common things, such as smoking, drugs, underage drinking, and the other things that are distracting our fellow teens and creating an environment not good for our future generations, but also for others around us. Please spread kindness, and don't give in to peer pressure!
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Comments
True Mercy Adhiambo Orengo | Jul 2nd, 2008
I am Mercy from Kenya. I loved your story, It speaks a message to the youths out there...I couldn't agree more with what you have brought out in your writing. keep it up.
dear Hafiidhaturrahmah | Oct 2nd, 2008
dearBrionna
ur story was inspired me so much. I love it. I hope there are a lot of people like Chad or Rachel who inspired more people to be better.
keep writing friend
we wait ur big other stories
warms,
aViS
^_^
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