Competition :)

Been writing an essay for a yr 13 competition. This is it...

Fear. It's an ugly word and one that has the capacity to destroy your life. Some people use it as a manipulative weapon, for others it's a way of life. These people believe that fear is cowardice and are ashamed of it, so they hide it. Being afraid of something has a self-destructing tendency; hiding it won't solve the problem. I used to be afraid of what people would think if I really said what I believed, if I didn't conform to everyone else's opinions of what I should be like. Only recently I discovered that being afraid to be yourself weakens who you are and is a form of slavery. I know that, but it doesn't stop me being too scared to tell people I'm a christian or to invite them to my church. I'm not ashamed of what I believe, I'm scared of what other people think about my beliefs; I want to be different and I also want to be accepted.

1807 was the year that saw the abolition of the slave trade. It also saw a man who was not afraid to voice his opinions to the world and who would not stop speaking until that desecration of human rights, the slave trade, was abolished: That man was William Wilberforce. He shouted passionately at complacent England to do more than talk about the slave trade. He shook them up by showing them the hard facts of what they were so willing to consent to. In our fear of getting out of our comfortable lives we allow problems that we could have stopped to go on unchecked. I think of all the times I could have stood up for what I believed and made a difference, but didn't, and am ashamed that at those times in my life fear ruled.

The heroes of our history and those of today are people who overcame their fear and did the right thing, regardless of what other people thought. They cared what people thought, like us, but that didn't stop them from acting on their beliefs. They spoke and acted for those that couldn't and became greater people by doing it. These people got their priorities right and made their decisions based on what they knew was true. You can't become great overnight; it's the little decisions that you make at the beginning that lead to big consequences. If we lose our fear and make the right decisions, we can change the world.

Ignorance and fear are linked: people tend to be afraid of what they don't know. In the end though, it's not what we didn't know that matters, but what we did with what we knew. We are responsible for acting on the knowledge we have. What we do makes a difference, even though we may never see the difference that we've made. Our lives may never make a big impact on the world, but on the other hand, one decision that we make could change the course of history. We are the people who are creating the future of the world, so let's make it a good one.

hmmm...