Helping My Friend by Logan

Helping My Friend by Logan - March 2026 Scholarship Essay

In the sixth grade, one of my closest friends and classmates suddenly disappeared from school for a few weeks. None of us kids knew why he was absent and rumors began to swirl for all the wrong reasons. How could someone miss so much school? Was he ok? What happened? Of course, the teacher and other adults knew but it was a mystery to us kids. Finally, after about a month, I was called down to the principal’s office. I had no idea why and I didn’t do anything wrong. What could the principal want from me? Once I arrived at the principal’s office I was asked to sit down. From there the principal informed me that my friend’s mother had tragically passed away and that was why he hadn’t been at school. I immediately felt sadness as I knew who my friend’s mom was and couldn’t believe she was dead. The principal went on to add that my friend would be returning to school the following Monday but was worried about what other kids would say or ask him. Principal added that as a result, my friend would be eased back into school by staying in the main office throughout the day for the first week or so to do his schoolwork. I was still puzzled as to why I was being told this by the principal. She finally informed me what my role was to be. The principal advised me that my friend had requested me to come and sit with him for a couple of hours out of the day to do homework with. My friend only wanted to see and speak with me from the entire class. I didn’t know how to respond. I missed my friend, but I was scared. I didn’t know what to say to him. I didn’t know how to act around him. I couldn’t imagine losing my mother and being in his situation. After our first afternoon together, I realized all he wanted was to talk about kids’ stuff and not be burdened by what had happened. From there my tension had eased and I would come down to the office daily to sit and talk with my friend. We talked about what was happening in class, sports, tv shows and normal kids’ stuff. He would ask for help in learning how to multiply and divide fractions and I would gladly help him the best I could. Soon my friend was comfortable returning to the classroom. I felt proud that he had chosen me to remind him that he was still a child and that life would go on. We are still friends to this day. Being asked to help my friend was a big deal. I’m sure my principal was confident in my ability to handle the situation, and I learned from it too. I learned compassion and how to listen. I will never forget being asked to help a friend. The compassion I learned back then and the leadership I provided a buddy, will follow me for the rest of life, let alone college.