The Power of Hope

I just finished reading an inspirational book called "The Freedom Writers Diary". It is about a young English teacher named Erin Gruwell who is given a freshman class of "unteachable, at-risk" kids. These students come from diverse ethnic backgrounds and have dealt with family abuse, neglect, gang violence, and extreme poverty. These kids have lost hope in a brighter future and feel destined to a hard life of violence and discrimination.

Ms. Gruwell accepts, respects, and challenges the students to rise above race discrimination. She gives them hope and teaches them about the power of change. She believes in their potential and encourages her students to believe in themselves. Through reading novels such as "The Diary of Anne Frank" and "The Color Purple" the students learn how to stand up for what they believe in and to go after their dreams.

It was amazing to read the student journal entries and hear their stories of losing family members to gang violence, being evicted from their homes, and suffering from physical and sexual abuse. The students gained confidence during their high school careers, improved their grades, and successfully graduated onto college. They learned how to use their writing to fight back against discrimination and rise above their current situations.

Ms. Gruwell clearly lived out her passion in life - to help others achieve success and confidence. She had a gift for inspiring others to believe in themselves. I believe it would be very rewarding to find a job where I would have the opportunity to make people feel better about themselves and inspire positive change. I want to make a difference in another's life in someway.