Anne Frank
Gratitude Challenge - Week 43 - A Mentor / Teacher
As part of completing my senior year of high school, I gave an honors presentation as a sort of thesis to sum up what I learned in school, as well as my goals and aspirations for the future. After I finished, people could ask questions. One of my best friends asked me who my role model is. At the time, I frantically scrambled to come up with an answer, and I listed my two favorite saints.
That was nearly 3 months ago. The question about my role model has nagged me ever since, and I finally came to a conclusion regarding who I look up to in my life.
My role model is Anne Frank. Her life and the events surrounding her time period never fail to fascinate me. I remember reading her diary for the first time in 6th grade, and I did not understand why the book just ended without a proper conclusion. A few years later, after comprehending the gravity of her torture and ultimate death in the concentration camps, I wept.
Anne Frank proves the value of the teenage age group, and the capacity of a young person's love. Though confined to an annex smaller than my future dorm room, she still had dreams, aspirations, and even crushes. Her overwhelming commitment to love and to truth shines through her writing, continuing to inspire even today.
My favorite quote by Anne Frank states, "In spite of everything, I still believe that people are still good at heart." I cannot even begin to reach her level of forgiveness in my daily life, and I have most certainly endured less than her. Anne's kindness in the face of her tormentors, both the confines of space and the presence of Nazis, shines as an example of loving one's enemies. More than this, her continuing belief in the intrinsic goodness of the human race is even more powerful when examined within the context of her time.
Some of my favorite books regard World War II. I am constantly amazed by the extent of the horrors during this time, but this is not why I read about it. If I merely read about WWII because of the war and the death, that would be a disgrace to Anne Frank. I love studying WWII because amidst the terror and the sheer evil, true kindness and altruism manifest. People like Anne Frank combat every death with love and the promise of a better generation to come. I pray that my generation can rise to Anne Frank's standard, becoming a beacon for peace and love among the world's turmoil.
That was nearly 3 months ago. The question about my role model has nagged me ever since, and I finally came to a conclusion regarding who I look up to in my life.
My role model is Anne Frank. Her life and the events surrounding her time period never fail to fascinate me. I remember reading her diary for the first time in 6th grade, and I did not understand why the book just ended without a proper conclusion. A few years later, after comprehending the gravity of her torture and ultimate death in the concentration camps, I wept.
Anne Frank proves the value of the teenage age group, and the capacity of a young person's love. Though confined to an annex smaller than my future dorm room, she still had dreams, aspirations, and even crushes. Her overwhelming commitment to love and to truth shines through her writing, continuing to inspire even today.
My favorite quote by Anne Frank states, "In spite of everything, I still believe that people are still good at heart." I cannot even begin to reach her level of forgiveness in my daily life, and I have most certainly endured less than her. Anne's kindness in the face of her tormentors, both the confines of space and the presence of Nazis, shines as an example of loving one's enemies. More than this, her continuing belief in the intrinsic goodness of the human race is even more powerful when examined within the context of her time.
Some of my favorite books regard World War II. I am constantly amazed by the extent of the horrors during this time, but this is not why I read about it. If I merely read about WWII because of the war and the death, that would be a disgrace to Anne Frank. I love studying WWII because amidst the terror and the sheer evil, true kindness and altruism manifest. People like Anne Frank combat every death with love and the promise of a better generation to come. I pray that my generation can rise to Anne Frank's standard, becoming a beacon for peace and love among the world's turmoil.
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