West Boca High

My name is Rebekah and i go to West Boca High. Recently, my English teacher Mrs. Donney showed us the movie, "Pay it Forward". It really affected me, and the ending was very emotional but true. It seems the only way for something to change for "good", is if something tragic happens to someone, and in the movie it was Trevor.

I volunteer and two local hospitals and i see young kids with cancer and other terminal illnesses; it's very emotional. I visit with many children at the hospital to help cheer them up, but I i have 13 kids that I always make sure I visit while I'm there. Over the past four months I have become close with two girls, Elizabeth and Amanda both 9 years old. Amanda just recently passed away a week ago and her parents would bring her stuffed animals or toys to play with, but if she saw another kid who she thought needed to be cheered up she gave it to them. I was really touched by what she would do to help others, and watching Pay it Forward in school had the same concept and I really like the idea of returning the favor to someone else if someone had helped you out and you couldn't pay them back if you would never see them again.

Now, as for Elizabeth, she loves reading books. So every time I visit her I try to stop at borders on the way to visiting her so she has a new book to read. After watching Pay it Forward, i decided to buy the book and bring it to the hospital and read it to Elizabeth. Before starting the book, I told her a little bit about it first. I started reading the book to her and figured that I would read a little at a time, so I read just the first 15 pages. As I was about to leave, her friend came in to drop off her work she had missed in school that day. I set the book down on the small table beside her bed so she could read it later. As I was walking out of her room, I heard her telling the story to her friend; before I closed the door I heard her say, "Thanks". That's when I truly realized how big of a difference one person could make in the world. If you can't return the favor to someone who has helped you, return the favor to someone else and put a smile on their face.

-Rebekah

PS- Charley, sorry for this long letter, but I was wondering if I could order some of the bracelets that say "PAY IT FORWARD" on it. I would love to hand them out to the kids I visit at the hospital, and get some for them to hand out to their friends and family so they can pass the message on to everyone. I was thinking of maybe out 40 bracelets; so I can give one to all 13 kids I visit and have some for them to give way to people they feel has some something. Please reply back. 
Thanks. =]