Puppy Day by Chloe

Puppy Day by Chloe - September 2019 Scholarship Essay

An extracurricular activity is a beautiful moment in time set aside so children can step back from their classes and enjoy fun or practical activities. These activities can change the lives of young people in positive ways. Their eyes could become open to new opportunities that they never thought possible. They could discover acting, music, social work, and the list goes on.
It is no secret that middle school or high school is a trying time in a person’s life. This is an impressionable time in a person’s life, and they could develop insecurities that are damaging to their future selves. There are countless amounts of extraordinary young people that struggle with these issues, such as depression, anxiety, bullying, test anxiety, and so on. This can get worse as they progress through school. Since most of a child’s life is spent in school, it is important to have extracurricular activities that help them destress from their studies. The activity I would implement to help with this problem is a puppy/dog day where local shelters would bring their dogs to schools, allowing the students to interact with them. This would be a fun filled day that brings joy to schools and would be held at least once a week or twice a month at participating schools. The idea came to me after hearing how much my younger brother wanted a dog to help with his anxiety. We recently lost our dad to cancer and ever since we have all been struggling in our own ways. I see how my brother lights up whenever he talks about a dog. He loves describing how he wants to name or take care of them. He helps me realize how important animals are when it comes to helping our mental state. I truly believe children could benefit from this kind of an activity. Everyone needs a few kisses from a puppy or the cuddle of a fluffy buddy.
One of the benefits to having a puppy/dog day is that local shelters could bring the animals that are up for adoption. The dogs could come, have a break from their cages, and play with students. This would be a healing experience for both the dog and the student. Also, if the student and their family is in the market to adopt a dog, maybe there is one that has already built a connection with the student. I believe this would be a beautiful extracurricular activity that would bring happiness to everyone involved.