To Be Courageous by Alicia

To Be Courageous by Alicia - February 2015 Scholarship Essay

I have always wanted to be courageous. Deep down inside of me, I have had a quiet, secret yearning to do something great for the world. While growing up, society has taught me that to be courageous, one has to be brave. The two are synonymous, I have always been told. Yet in my last year of high school, I discovered a book that cast off this common assumption forever. This book is called "Profiles in Courage," and it was written by a truly courageous man: John Fitzgerald Kennedy. Through this book, I learned the difference between courage and bravery and how to know which quality I should pursue.

In November of 2013, it was the fiftieth anniversary of John F. Kennedy’s assassination. During this time, I found myself watching documentaries and reading old and new magazine articles about his life and death. Then I decided to read his book that he had written when he was still a young senator from Massachusetts. "Profiles in Courage" is a book describing the actions of eight certain United States Senators which Kennedy had dubbed courageous. As I perused this book, I discovered that each senator stood firmly, unbroken, for what he believed to be right and in his duty to perform, regardless of all the derision he received from the other senators and millions of citizens. Through the passing of time, we now understand that some of those eight senators stood up for what we now consider right and just, though the men and their actions were considered unjust in their own time. Just as well, some of the senators stood up for things we now consider unjust and wrong. However, the end result is still the same: all eight senators had that unique quality of courage—that rock-hard will to stand for what he believed to be right. This is where courage and bravery follow different paths. Courage is choosing to perform dangerous or socially-unacceptable actions even after much thought and weighing of the consequences, whereas bravery is whimsical and fleeting and does not consider consequences but plunges in head on regardless. High school students need to be taught this difference, and not in a classroom atmosphere, but through the world of time captured in a book. In an age where politics greatly affect every single person, whether consciously or not, young adults in high school need to be shown how courage and bravery are different.

Now that I had read "Profiles in Courage" and knew how courage and bravery were different, I needed to know how to apply these qualities to my own life and how to pursue them. As a high school student, I knew that some of the biggest decisions of my life would be made in the next few years, and I needed to know how to pursue them. Through reading "Profiles in Courage," I have found that courage is lasting and stands up to the test, while bravery is short-lived and easily broken. Courage requires time and effort, and bravery is often unthinking and shallow. I know from experiences in school and life in general that typically the longer an answer is thought out, the better the outcome of the answer is. Therefore, I desire the decisions I make in my life to be carefully thought-out and enduring. I don’t want to make impulsive choices that may end up as foolish. Reading "Profiles in Courage" has taught me that it is best that I consider my actions and choices carefully, like a courageous person, rather than make hasty decisions that might end in disaster later, like acts of bravery sometimes can. Every high school student needs to read this book for the very reason that it will prepare them for life-changing decisions just around the bend of time.

Just as how John F. Kennedy’s book "Profiles in Courage" has shown me the real difference between courage and bravery and how that knowledge can be used in future areas of my life, high school students who read it will also have this new knowledge that will serve as unfailing help in later years. Students who read this book will better know how to confront certain questions in their lives and will know which decision they should make. Since high school is the last educational level for many people, it is even more important that they read this book before they are thrust into a world crowded with decisions to be made. Now that I have read "Profiles in Courage," I know to pursue courage in all areas of my life. I have the highest hopes that other high school students will also find this book revealing and encouraging.