Real Courage Issues - Essay Example

My family had moved to a new town as a result of my dad’s work and I was enrolled in a new school. I am normally a very outgoing person and within a few days, I made many friends, among who was Tim, who would eventually become my closest friend. Tim was shorter than me and with a smaller build and I had heard rumors that he was often a victim of bullying. I had not witnessed the bullying firsthand and Tim always refused to talk about it whenever I asked. I, therefore, thought that it was nothing serious until one day after school, I saw Tim being beaten up by an older kid. He was much bigger than I was and despite my desire to stop him, I was suddenly afraid and instead of going to Tim’s aid, I pretended that I had not seen him and went home.

For several days afterward, I did not have peace because I realized that I had been in a position to do the right thing and help my friend yet I had not dared to do so. I felt very ashamed for failing Tim and I did my best to avoid him as much as I could because I could not look him in the eye. However, not long afterward, as I was heading home from school, I saw Tim being beaten up by the same bully and for the first time, instead of being overwhelmed by fear, I felt an anger that I had never felt before rising inside me. All the frustration and shame that I had felt for many days came rushing forward and I suddenly went for the bully. My sudden onslaught and its ferocity must have taken the bully by surprise because he did not defend himself and against all my expectations, he turned and ran. I was so furious that I chased him for an entire block before I became too tired to follow.

I went back to see whether Tim was alright and he was so dumbstruck by my actions that he at first did not answer me at. However, after his initial shock, he told me that he was fine and then he told me the story about why he was always the bully’s victim. The bully, named Tony, always demanded Tim’s lunch money and whenever he did not have it, Tony would ambush him after school. I later came to realize that my having the courage to go after Tony had led to his leaving Tim alone because he never came after him again, while Tim and I became even closer friends.