The day began at Masuk High School as it normally does. Groups of friends congregated in the library and cafeteria, then students filed off to classes at the sound of the bell without a second thought. We sat and rolled our eyes as the teacher led a discussion, then went to our advisory groups.
I received a copy of your essay yesterday, and I read it and was touched and impressed by the higher-level analysis and positive thinking that you incorporated into it. I like writing, just like you did. I had heard great things about the assembly from the woman who organized it. I put the paper away and while I waited excitedly for the assembly, I believed it to be pointless; these lectures always change people for a day, if they change people at all, and then it is back to the same old bitching and moaning. So today when we were asked to write our own essays I took advantage of the opportunity, because no one could change what I wrote. I wrote from the heart, even though my peers were giving me strange stares because I was the only one actually subjecting myself to the "stupid assignment." We went to breakfast, then traced our hands but didn't know why. We proceeded into the auditorium with our friends, without any preparation for what we were about to experience.
I have never cried in a movie theater. Books just don't bring me to tears. If you cry during a television show, you won't be prepared for the next day's discussion. And somehow by the end of this assembly I was crying. Your story, your brother's story, moved me to waterworks. You discovered the importance of human interaction and made it a goal to perfect it in yourself. You treated everyone with equal kindness and respect, and made other's recognize their own self-worth. The story of how you made a mentally handicapped boy's life worth living with a hug and a high-five was absolutely incredible. Your family must be so proud.
Today, Masuk High School became a family. We were all brought together to this revealing, eye-opening experience and perhaps proved that we weren't all crazy. All of our wishes for a better world that were closed in the back of our subconscious minds came forward. Thank you for giving us permission to think them. The auditorium became our sanctuary, where we all gained a connection with each other and with our school that we will have for the rest of our lives. People were able to share personal aspects of their lives with a group of people that may not have known their name. A huge group of student leaders, sports team captains, class officers, theater kids, and psychology students created what the spokesman called an F.O.R. Army. We are your friends, and we are friends of each other and of our community. We all have Facebook statuses declaring our love for each other and we don't sound insane.
If any school can succeed in completing your challenge, it is Masuk High School. I accepted Rachel's Challenge.
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