Inspiring by example

This was a top scorer in the eloquence category for a teen essay contest for Americans, Israelis, and Palestinians that was sponsored by Heart of a Nation. The essay prompt was “What do you most want to improve about your own society and how?” Scoring was done by the organization; the Monitor supported this cross-cultural program by agreeing to publish the top essays. Views are those of the writer, who lives in Sakhnin, Israel.

As soon as I looked at the requirements for this essay, these elements crossed my mind. With great remorse, I wandered thinking of a way out of dilemmas that defy time, that are timeless, and that refuse limits. I ascended the sky ladder, declaring disobedience to the earth’s dwelling. In my turn, with my childish naiveté, I found that the answer to it was simply such an initiative and the body of this text.

While I lined up consciously in a line to censor my thoughts, I find that the most horrific thing that our society commits today is putting a ceiling on childhood dreams, and molding our thoughts, beliefs, and futures to match our ancestors’ – aiming to search for stability between the infinite hurricanes hitting our world ceaselessly.

With open eyes, we are taking our unsettling present. On the other side of our sick realities, our lazy dreams perish. We lean to stagnate, seeking death comfort. We are forever haunted by the ghosts of our myths. Where is the way out?

First, we must have absolute belief in ourselves. Let us derive our faith from the land of faith, the source of the prophets. Secondly, we must let go of panic and apprehension, and embrace passionate perseverance. Never do we glimpse pride apparent, and its people are woeful.

The solution to our civilizational, cultural, and moral crisis is in carrying our burdens shoulder to shoulder and supporting each other until we reach our goals in life. And here begins the role of each of us, whether as a teacher, artist, singer, or writer, to take even the smallest initiative: writing poetry that brings hope, singing motivational songs, or sculpting a statue depicting victory after a battle.

Finally, we must start from ourselves to be the living example that motivates all groups and rising generations to realize themselves. With the difference in our dreams, we can bring heavens to earth. The beauty of the world lies in its diversity and the colors of the spectrum with their splendor, complete only in the contribution of all. Some of us dream of building a university, a hospital, or the highest dome, and some of us dream of making medicine for incurable diseases; others aspire to solve the climate crisis and mobilize a crowd to clean the bottom of the ocean, and others who crave to be busy discover the secrets of the universe.

Believing in the ability to rein in fate and destiny, we declare a blockade on ideas that have been dying, and we set for us a lofty goal unsoiled by the dust of waiting – until comes the dawn of the day.

Our goal is the ladder of success, and its degrees are of revolutionary thought. We build our thoughts from our ribs to ascend the ranks of heaven one at a time, and build the glory of our earth – forever and ever.

Dona is a Palestinian from Galil. She aspires to put an end to her nation’s political struggle through social initiatives and educating and empowering younger generations.

To read other Heart of a Nation Teen Essay Competition entries, visit Teens Share Solutions to Global Issues.