Some people are just doomed to be failures. That's the way some adults look at troubled kids. Maybe you've heard the saying, "A bird with a broken wing will never fly as high." I'm sure that Jay Bradley was made to feel this way almost every day in school.
By high school, Jay was the biggest troublemaker in his town. Teachers literally cringed when they saw his name posted on their classroom lists for the next semester. He wasn't very talkative and got into lots of fights. He had flunked almost every class by the time he entered his senior year, yet was being passed on each year to a higher grade level. Jay was moving on, but definitely not moving up.
I met him for the first time at a leadership retreat. All of the students at school had been invited to sign up for a program designed to have students become more involved in their communities. Jay was one of 405 students who signed up. At the start of the retreat, Jay was literally standing outside the circle of students, against the back wall, with that "go ahead, impress me" look on his face. He didn't seem to have much to say. But slowly, the interactive games drew him in. The ice really melted when the groups started building a list of positive and negative things that had occurred at school that year. Jay had some definite thoughts on those situations. The other students in Jay's group welcomed his comments. All of a sudden Jay felt like a part of the group, and before long he was being treated like a leader. He was saying things that made a lot of sense, and everyone was listening. Jay was a smart guy, and he had some great ideas.
The next day, he became very active in all the sessions. By the end of the retreat, he had joined the Homeless Project team. Jay knew something about poverty, hunger and hopelessness. The other students on the team were impressed with his passionate concern and ideas. They elected Jay as the co-chairman of the team. The student council president would be taking instruction from Jay.
When Jay showed up at school on Monday morning, he arrived to a firestorm. A group of teachers were protesting to the school principal about him being elected as the co-chairman. The very first community-wide service project was to sent foods to the homeless people and these teachers couldn't believe that the principal would allow this vital project to stay in the incapable hands of Jay Bradley. However Mr Shunpike insist and leaving the teachers shaking their heads in disbelief.
Two weeks later, Jay and his friends led a group of 70 students to distribute canned foods to the homeless people in two neighborhood centers. The local newspaper covered the event with a full-page article the next day. That newspaper story was posted on the main bulletin board at school, where everyone could see it. Jay's picture was up there for doing something great, for leading the Homeless Project team. He was being acknowledged as leadership material.
Jay reminds us that a bird with a broken wing only needs mending. But once it has healed, it can fly higher than the rest. He changed my life. He is the epitome of the adage "never judge a book by its cover."
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i just made it last night, and i remember it. huh close enough. I'VE NEVER WROTE A NARRATIVE BEFORE AND SUDDENLY DOING IT FOR SPM? WHAT DID I DOOOOO ;~;
nvm, hope it's okay. tawakaltu'alallah.
