Presidential Scholarship Essay Anonymous

“Chance, if you pull my hair one more time you’re going to be in big trouble!” I threatened. The boy in front of me sat in his wheelchair, grinning wide with a devilish look on his face. “Chance, no one will want to be your friend if you hurt them.” His face fell, and for the first time I saw apology and understanding in his eyes.

I was a seasoned four-year-old at that time, and a participant in the KUSD Peer Program. In this program, academically advanced preschoolers were buddied up with academically, emotionally, and physically challenged children their own age. In my mind, although my buddy Chance was in a wheelchair and thought yanking hair was funny, we were no different.

On the first day of school , I learned a massive amount patience in a very short amount of time. It took a few weeks, but Chance eventually stopped yanking on my locks. I grew with him that year, and we learned each other’s favorite colors, favorite coloring books, and favorite playtime activities. I realized that I loved watching people grow, and growing with them. I wanted to do that my whole life. From that point on, I began to intuit that I wanted to be a teacher. I often reflect on my year with Chance, and sometimes I wonder who benefited more from...