CATEGORY: HIGH SCHOOL

1st Place by Elizabeth B., Omaha Burke High School

“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” (Martin Luther King Jr.). Martin Luther King Jr. fought for equal rights for all through nonviolent protest and knowledge. He wanted a world where everyone could get along. He dreamed for the future of the kind of world we live in today with everyone having equal rights, but I dream of a future that consists of a caring and community in which everyone can live together in harmony.

In my dream for our community Omaha would be a place people would want to live. Everyone would feel safe and you wouldn’t have to worry about different parts of our town. In a just community there wouldn’t be any judging people on the color of their skin or the clothes they wear of what they have on the outside because what would matter would be on the inside. In a perfect community we would all strive to make our community the best it could be. It would include high quality life, no poverty, and people looking out for each other not just our friends.

A perfect community although it seems impossible is something we could achieve in our town. To do that we need to start with little goals like eliminating stereotyping and bullying and problems similar to those. Then we would need to eliminate any other violence and create a peaceful place. After that all we’d need to do is work together to improve the rest of community. We could have fundraisers to raise money and awareness for causes. We could start a project through the schools and other organizations to get kids involved. Just by doing this we would create a bond throughout our community and it would eliminate so many other problems.

Martin Luther King Jr. dreamed of a better future and so do I. If we can make our small community a better place then we’re on our way to making our whole world a better place. Creating a better community would benefit us all I hope that this is a dream that can come true.

2nd Place by Ronn T., Omaha Burke High School

Sometimes find myself wondering why I have to work as hard as I do in school and then I realize that the point of my hard work is to accomplish my dream. It is a dream that is similar to those who fought for equality so that I could now be in the position that I am in right now, receiving the education that I am now. Those people where lighting a path that I can now follow to my own dream. And that dream is to improve the lives of those around me and leave the world a better place than it was.

My dream is that the people in my community will not be afraid to challenge themselves. I know that sometimes tolerating people who have different opinions than you is not easy. It may sometimes take some effort but the first major step in improving our community would be accepting the people in it, that includes people of different races, ages, religions, sexual orientations, political parties and also people that have recently immigrated into the community because everyone should have the chance to contribute.

In my community I want to see people taking advantage of their resources, especially education. l encourage those in my community to participate in school work and other activities that will not only help them gain knowledge but also help them gain important values and self-respect. Education and self-respect is the only way to steer oneself away from negative influences such as gang violence. And it is the responsibility of everyone in the community to disapprove of and discourage gangs in our communities because when people are given a chance they can offer the world a lot more than violence.

The third step would be using community unity to help fix the problems that many of our communities face. I believe that poverty is the root of all evil and in order to better our communities we have to take care of our poor. It is wrong to allow people to suffer because they lack the means to take care of themselves. We have to feed the hungry and give shelter to the homeless. I dream of a community where we can use the variations of our economic statuses as a source of group unity and charity and not a factor of discrimination.

Dr. King believed that we all held an equal stake in our community. That our neighborhoods should be a place for everyone, no one is ever too old or too young. He believed that you could learn from anyone no matter how different. We should never turn people away from our larger group because they are different, those difference make us stronger as a unit when we learn to accept them. Our interactions with others make us better people. The greatest asset we have it each other.

3rd Place:  What are you doing for others? by Alyssa K, Omaha Burke High School

Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’” King, a leader in the Civil Rights Movement throughout the 1960’s, once had a dream for his country that discrimination against minorities would end and that everyone would be treated equally. King valued peaceful protests and persistence, and throughout his life he taught others how to fight for what they believe in. His goal was to help others fight for their beliefs, and he put himself in many dangerous situations to achieve his dream. From Dr. King’s peaceful platform and determination, he has inspired people throughout the world. Back in 1963 when Martin Luther King Jr. gave his ‘I have a dream’ speech, he amazed millions of Americans, and gave hope to blacks who wanted the segregation to end. Today, in 2012, I also have a dream that can shape my community to become a much safer, and healthier place to live.

I have a dream that Omaha, Nebraska, one of the top leading areas for sexually transmitted diseases in the nation, can become aware of this issue and start to educate our youth so we can stop the continuation of these viruses. Currently in Douglas County there are over 4,000 cases of Chlamydia and Gonorrhea alone. Out of these cases, almost 75% are young adults between the ages of 15-24. Sexually transmitted diseases affect all people of all ages, but the reality is that in our community it is most present in the ages that don’t think anything bad could ever happen. Young adults today are caught up in their busy lifestyles and don’t realize the dangers that come along when they do not protect themselves. I believe that the only way to end this issue is to education citizens of Omaha about the risks in our community.

In my vision for the future, I do not want Omaha to be a major statistic in the problem with sexually transmitted diseases. I want parents, teachers, leaders, and members of the community to step up and start to teach teenagers about the spreading epidemic throughout Omaha and how to be able to prevent it. As the statistics show, most of the diseases are found within young adults because of their lack of knowledge on the issue. If leaders in our community can reach out to teens about the dangers of the diseases, I believe that the number of people who carry the viruses will lessen.

As Martin Luther King Jr. explains that life is about doing things for others, I dream that by educating Omaha about these diseases, we are helping to end a problem that has plagued citizens for many years. It only takes one person who is willing to dedicate their time to inform people about sexually transmitted diseases that could end up saving thousands of lives.