A young writer named Lyana, from Virginia, sent us this story that came from this prompt:
Think of a time when you were proud of yourself. What happened? Why was it such an important moment to you?
We liked it alot and so wanted to share it with you.
One time when I was three I did something that made me the most proud of myself than I have ever been. My Mom and I were driving and I was reading an animal book that I loved. All of a sudden, I heard my Mom gasp. Trust me whenever my Mom gasps it is not good. I looked out of the car window, and I saw some police that were surrounding a smashed up car with a shattered windshield. An ambulance was already there and there was a lot of commotion.
Instantly, my Mom jumped out of the car and brought back a boy that had clearly been in the car accident. He was sobbing and shaking like a hairless Chihuahua in winter. My Mom put the frightened boy next to me in the backseat and went to see if she could help at the scene of the crash.
The boy looked at me with fear in his eyes, and I felt bad for him because I had never had my family members hurt so badly. All I could think was, “What should I do next?” So I looked at him and then glanced at my favorite book ever. I had a thought that if that book could make me happy then it could probably make someone who needed it more than me happy too. I decided to let him read my picture book. After I gave it to him, he was very joyful.
When the accident cleared up and the boy was ready to leave the car, he gave me the book back. Instead of taking it, I thought if something bad ever happens to him again he is safe with my favorite book. So I put it back in his hands and he hugged me. We all know that if I gave a book to an adult involved in a car crash, it would not have meant anything to them. But giving the book to that poor boy was really valuable. So, if you start to pause before doing something small to help someone, don’t hesitate because the littlest thing can change the world.