Stand Tall by Grant

Stand Tall by Grant - June 2014 Scholarship Essay

If I could write a book about anything, I would choose to write about fear and the different ways that people handle fear. Fear can be a very powerful obstacle, Franklin D Roosevelt wasn't kidding when he said his famous quote “That the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” I would make the main character someone who experiences fear in many different ways. Often times in movies and TV shows it seems as if the leading characters have no fear at all, and though it makes for a very entertaining afternoon, I don’t think that I could relate to that character. Fear can either restrict us, or propel us. For example, I am doing a speech tomorrow at my church to promote a movie drive to help underprivileged children at the Stewpot, and to be quite honest, I am terrified. But in times like this I am reminded of why I am facing these fears in the first place. I want those children to experience movies that open their minds like they have opened my own. Although I am afraid, I have a purpose.

I want the main character to experience what it is like to succumb to his fears. I remember so many times when I didn't help someone when I had the opportunity to. In those cases, it was the fear of what would happen to me. Later on in life I wanted to make peace with these individuals who I neglected to help in the past, and suddenly I faced a similar fear again of receiving anger. However, something magical happened instead. I had all of these doubts, and what ifs that I expected, but I was welcomed with forgiveness and love. You see our fears are obstacles in our head that try to stop us from taking risks. When we build up the courage to face our problems, then our problems are never what we imagined them to be. Often times I would build up my fears so huge I would talk myself out of experiencing new things, but every time I've faced my fears, not only were they smaller than I imagined, but I felt this immense weight lifted off of my shoulders. I could finally breathe.

When my main character conquers his fears after multiple times of giving in to his fears, I want that to inspire my readers that even though they do not feel strong enough, you can still conquer your fears when you remind yourself of why you are doing what you are doing. As Nelson Mandela once said Courage is not the absence of fear, but when we keep going in spite of our fears.