2020-21 Essay Contest

2020-2021 Congratulations to our Winners:

The Canton Optimist Club is pleased to announce the winners of the 2021 Optimist Essay Contest. This contest gives young people room to develop their own views around a central idea. The topic for this year’s competition was “Reaching Your Dreams by Choosing Optimism”. In addition to the opportunity for written expression, participants have the chance to win a college scholarship. This years Essay Contest was co-chaired by Canton Optimist Club Members, Rachel Ashe and Ashley Snow, both from the District Attorney’s Office. Shelley McNellie was the English Teacher Sponsor from Cherokee High School.

Brent “Bronco” Burgess, Cherokee High School, was awarded first place and received a $150 award. Burgess’ source of optimism in the face of life’s challenges arises from his passion in fixing cars. “My optimism comes from vehicles strange enough, almost like if there is a car, truck, or tractor to work on everything is going to be alright. I have seen this in a lot of people but in various forms. They give themselves something to hold onto. A metaphorical life preserver for their optimism. ‘If I have this, then I know I will be ok’.” As the first-place winner, Burgess will advance to the District Competition for a chance to win a $2,500 scholarship.

Victoria Hunter, Sequoyah High School, was awarded second place, and received a $100 award. Hunter challenged the reader to choose optimism in how we related to others in order to heal our world. “You never know a person and their story. You do not know their future, nor their past. To judge someone based off of their appearance is to be pessimistic and blind. However, if you are optimistic about a person and their story, you can open your eyes and take the first step forward in healing the world. By eliminating any negative affirmations, you have based on their appearance, you can start to open yourself up to help others.”

Hagan Smith, Cherokee High School, was awarded third place and received a $50 award. Smith emphasized how a solid family structure has given him the encouragement and optimism to accomplish his dream of owning and operating a big game adventure outfitter company. “I have had a great support system from my family all through my life. My mom has always been there for me and has helped me throughout school. My dad has always encouraged me to be the best that I can be by working hard and being grateful. My grandparents are always there for me whenever I need them, and I have a great group of friends that I can depend on. I know that with the support of my friends and family, I will be able to reach my dreams and become successful.”

In a typical year, we would have the students, teachers and parents join us for breakfast at our meeting to give awards; however, that was not possible this year. Ashley Snow has been reading the winners Essay’s to the members and they will also be posted on the Canton Optimist Club website (https://sites.google.com/site/cantonoptimistclub/). Club President, Lori Flink remarked how amazing it is to see young people tell such impressive stories about Optimism. The Essay Program is a competition the Canton Optimist Club loves to sponsor. Rachel and Ashley did a fantastic job Co-Chairing!!

Below are the Winners Essay's:

“Reaching Your Dreams by Choosing Optimism”

Word Count: 744

Brent “Bronco” Burgess, Cherokee High School

Optimism is “hopefulness and confidence about the future or the successful outcome of something.” Optimism is what many call their hope, or what they are looking for. Life has many expectations, challenges, tribulations all with their own series of consequences and outcomes. Some are pleasing, give a sense of pride or strength. While others hurt, they reshape us and take us to a desolate place in our mind. Being young it was easy to be optimistic, when people are young, they are generally untainted by the horror’s life could bring. It’s not until around 13 when people start puberty that they begin to question if everything is going to be alright. If what they are doing is going to make a difference or if it’s even worth it. That is when optimism becomes something people have to find within themselves, or even have a reason to have.

My optimism comes from vehicles strange enough, almost like if there is a car, truck, or tractor to work on everything is going to be alright. I have seen this in a lot of people but in various forms. They give themselves something to hold onto. A metaphorical life preserver for their optimism. “If I have this, then I know I will be ok” That thing may be other people, animals, or objects. I grew up around cars and that combined with my fascination for mechanical concepts led to me becoming infatuated with internal combustion engines. Funny enough, it seems like you must be optimistic about car’s engines just to get them to start. My grandfather, a Vietnam vet. Grew up “hot rodding” cars. Taking parts from 4 or 5 different cars and putting them all into one just to make it as good as it could be without breaking the bank. My Papa on my dad's side had a 1969 Camaro SS. I didn’t get to see much of it, but it was beautiful. My dad was removed from my life when I was young because of his abusive tendencies and substance abuse problem. A young child watching their mother crying into her hands, holding her smashed phone that she was trying to get help from her mom while their dad yells louder and louder with his angry threats of abuse and torment does things to reshape a child’s fragile mind. That is at least what therapists told me since I was seven years old to explain away all my frustration, and short attention span. I was never confident I would make it through that part of my life, fearing one mistake could result in an “accident” that left me with a black eye or bruises. I concluded that I did not have a choice. The choice wasn’t “will I make it through this” It was more a question of how I would end up after I got through it. I could come out of it with the same abusive, and manipulative tendencies as my father. Or I could push, work, fight my way through it. I could learn from his mistakes and know to never become that same person that he was. I could fight my way through that part of my life till it was over, and I could move on to the next, stronger, smarter, and wiser. That’s what I decided to do, fight through the pain and heartache. I was still left hurt by it in the end. I turned to what I grew up around to help heal myself, cars. Cars, engines, nuts, and bolts are what I hold dear to me. It’s the same hard work to make something better that I put into myself, but instead a physical object. I fix them, modify them, make them stronger and more reliable. They help symbolize all that I went through. I never was confident in how I would turn out, because frankly I was never sure. My dream is that one day I can help a child who went through something like what I did, so I can change their life for the better. That is something I am confident I can do. I believe that I cannot change the whole world, but I am optimistic I can change someone’s world. Success to make a difference for the children who lived a life less than what they deserved is the only option there is. “History will judge us by the difference we make in the everyday lives of children.”- Nelson Mandela

Healing the World with Optimism

Word Count: 735

Vitoria Hunter, Sequoyah High School

Optimism. When people think about the word, they recall the iconic phrase: is the glass half full or half empty? Naturally, if you say that you see the world in a glass-half-full manner, you are optimistic. The definition of optimism is pretty standard; you look to the future with hope, confidence, and sunny days, rather than letting pessimism rain on your parade and make you fear your own future.

We know what optimism means . But can we say that we know how to apply optimism?

How many times have you had a moment where you considered that glass of water in front you? Did you come to a conclusion that you were optimistic about the situation? Did you end up being optimistic about the situation? When was the last time you had this self reflection? Days, months, maybe years ago?

I was given the prompt ‘healing the world with optimism.’ It’s not an impossible task. Optimism can achieve anything as long as the person behind the drive has a strong will and motivation. However, it is not an easy task to pull off, either. One lone person can achieve a lot if they put their mind to it, but they’re only one stepping stone in the process of healing the world with optimism. So today, I’m asking you, the audience, to consider the potential that you all hold. What are some daily moments in your life that you can look at with a fresh, new optimistic view?

I believe that optimism goes farther than the proven scientific results you can find when

googling the topic. Healing the world does not mean healing each individual's biology. To heal the world, you also have to heal mental wounds and help those in need. So to heal the world with optimism, change your opinion on strangers based on their appearance. More likely than not, seeing someone dressed a certain way or talking a certain way garners some negative opinions: aka, you are seeing them with a glass-half-empty view.

For example, if you see a homeless man huddled underneath a blanket outside of a store, your first thought might go in two directions: to recoil in disgust or to pity them. If you recoil in disgust, you’re probably assuming that they have an addiction of some sort, hence the reason for being broke and homeless. Maybe if you give them your money, they will go scurry off just to buy a new pack to smoke rather than food for their empty stomach. But the key word here is maybe; every time you run into a homeless person, maybe they ended up broke due to a gambling addiction. Maybe they got drunk while partying at bars all the time until they had no coins left in their pockets. Maybe they spent hundreds and thousand dollars to get high and forget their worries.

Or maybe they were recently let off from their job due to tight budgets. Maybe they had an abusive fiancé who forced them to hand over all their money, to which they ran away from. Or maybe a lawsuit against a small accident escalated until they were thousands of dollars in debt and had to give up their home to pay it off.

You never know a person and their story. You do not know their future, nor their past. To judge someone based off of their appearance is to be pessimistic and blind. However, if you are optimistic about a person and their story, you can open your eyes and take the first step forward in healing the world. By eliminating any negative affirmations you have based on their appearance, you can start to open yourself up to help others. If you see a homeless person and have an optimistic view, you’ll consider your own situation. ‘Wow, I’m glad that I’m able to live as comfortably as I am now rather than sleeping on the streets.’ But true optimists take this thought process a step ahead. They’ll tell themselves, ‘Wow, I’m glad that I’m able to live as comfortably as I am now rather than sleeping on the streets… maybe I have some spare change to buy them a nice, hot meal from the local café.” And it is with these new, optimistic views on the persona of strangers that we as a whole can begin to place and cross the stepping stones to healing the world.

Reaching your Dreams by Choosing Optimism

Word Count: 722

Hagan Smith, Cherokee High School

Everyone has dreams. Without them people would have no goals in life and would just work to live. My personal goal is to work at my Dad’s company full-time. I know that my biggest obstacle will be the time it will take me to learn everything there is to know about the business and work my way up to become a supervisor. I am optimistic that by having good work habits and being dependable, I will be able to accomplish my dream. My passion is hunting, so once I have saved enough money, I plan to go to Texas to a hunting outfitter. It is something I have always wanted to do. The next big thing I will save for will be money to buy a house. Then it will be time to get married and start a family.

Providing for my family the way my parents provided for me is an important part of making my dream complete. I want to have a nice house, cars, and be able to give them the things that they need and want. I know that by accomplishing my dream of becoming a supervisor it will give me the opportunity to provide all the things my family needs. It is important to me that I set an example for my children to follow. I will take what I learned from my dad when he coached my baseball team and will be a fair baseball coach for my kids. My goal will be to start a savings account for family vacations. I want my family to know that by working hard, you can play hard. They can depend on me to take them on family vacations and enjoy our family time together. I will always take an active role in my family’s activities so they know they will always be able to depend on me.

Since I already know that I will love my job, I will be motivated to work hard and continue to move up in the company. Who knows, one day I may even buy it! Then I will be able to put others in charge of the operation and move on to my ultimate dream which is to own and run a hunting outfitter. My passion is hunting; therefore, I would love to add to my income by doing something I love and provide other hunters with a once in a lifetime opportunity. Building a hunting outfitter will definitely be a lot of hard work. It will have to be the ultimate big game adventure. Owning lots of land to employ several guides to take hunters on hunts of a lifetime is a must. There will be lodging, guide services, and big game to hunt. Transportation to and from the airport will be expected along with cooks to prepare meals to serve the hunters. My dream is for hunters to experience a once in a lifetime opportunity at the outfitter that they will always remember. Owning and running a hunting outfitter is my ultimate dream. With a lot of hard work, it is a dream that can be accomplished. I will not just have to work to live, but I will be able to live to work. I will love every minute of working at my outfitter. It will be very rewarding to see other hunters experience the ultimate big game adventure.

I believe that I am on the right path to accomplishing my dreams in life. I have known for years what I wanted to do and have worked towards those goals. I started at the bottom of my dad’s company during summer vacation and proved to him that I was a dependable worker. That has been an important part in starting making my dreams come true. I have had a great support system from my family all through my life. My mom has always been there for me and has helped me throughout school. My dad has always encouraged me to be the best that I can be by working hard and being grateful. My grandparents are always there for me whenever I need them, and I have a great group of friends that I can depend on. I know that with the support of my friends and family, I will be able to reach my dreams and become successful.

The Canton Optimist Club partners each year for our Essay Contest with Cherokee High School. Each club holds their own essay contest to determine winners. The 1st place winner then moves on to District level. There are a total of 9 clubs within our District.

Chair: Ashley Snow & Rachel Ashe

Theme: "Reaching Your Dreams by Choosing Optimism"

This contest is open to students under the age of 19 as of October 1, 2020 and who have not yet completed secondary school or its equivalent. There is no minimum age. Essays must be typewritten and double-spaced and contain not less than 700 and no more than 800 words. Works of fiction or poetry are not eligible.

DEADLINES: Winning essay and application package must be received in the next level NO LATER THAN:

Club to Zone: must be received by Lt Governor by January 31, 2021

Zone to District: must be received by Linda Brown by February 28, 2021

District to OI: must be received at OI by April 15, 2021