Epilogue

As Isabella stood in front of the crowded conference room full of stuffy people, she felt her nerves kick in. After she was introduced, she would be expected to make her speech that her English teacher had submitted to the state competition. Her mother and siblings sat at a table nearby, and Rosie waved wildly, hoping that she would respond. As her mother tried to detour the seven-year-old, Isabella thought back to the Society, who were unable to come but had wished her well before she went.
“You’ll be great, Bella.” Lana had said, smiling.
“Whatever,” Isabella said. “I don’t even know why Mrs. Wilson submitted it.”
Jeremy rolled his eyes. “Because you’re a great writer and a wicked speech giver. Bella, you’re going to be a president someday, I swear.”
“We’ll be thinking about you the whole time.” Tia said, her arm still in sling, but otherwise much like she always had been, only happier. “If you get nervous just remember we’re there right beside you.”
“Either that or think of us in our underwear.” Aden said, grinning.
“Asshole.” Isabella had said, laughing. “I’ll do that, then.”
But thinking about the Society in their underwear was not helping her be any less nervous. Everything seemed so far away.
“Well, ladies and gentlemen, I’d like to introduce you to our state speech competition winner. She is a remarkable young lady, and I know that you will love her. Isabella Sanchez please come on up!”
Isabella’s stomach churned, but she walked up the steps to the podium despite her urge to run the other way. She took a few deep breaths and tried not to look at the audience.
“Eleanor Roosevelt once said that no one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” Isabella said, surprised by her own voice coming through the microphone. “Eleanor Roosevelt was, as you all know, an amazing advocate and humanist. She was optimistic, brilliant, and most of all compassionate. I’m not here to talk about Eleanor, though.”
“You see, I have these friends who I have nothing in common with. Nothing in common, except that we’ve all seen more of the world than we’d ever like to see. Between the five of us, we’ve seen rape, poverty, physical abuse, divorce, mental illness and emotional abuse. We have all been victims of the negative social consequences in our society. Yet these friends of mine, despite having nothing in common, formed a tight bond through our hope. We made a pact to each other to strive for something better, to strive for change.
“I believe in hope. I believe in hope with all of my heart because it’s one of the only things I have to cling to. Just like any fairytale I believe that a happy ending is possible. Like many fairytale characters who live through adversity and come through a princess I guess I just hope what I’ve been through will lead to a bright and comfortable future. I don’t want to give up hope, and I don’t want to lose faith, so I will cling to my dreams with everything that I have.
“My friends and I are a generation of more and more broken children. Our families have been torn apart, our lives have been pulled in one direction or another by people telling us we are not good enough, smart enough, or pretty enough. We have seen things we shouldn’t have seen and heard things we shouldn’t have had to hear. We have been discriminated against, walked over, kicked in the mud and ignored until some of us react in the only way we know how, which only leads to more criticism and problems. Yet, we are also a generation of hope.
“From the ashes comes new life; though there is death there is also birth. I believe that the future holds happiness, we just have to take a step in the right direction. We must forgive all the adversity and that which society has imposed on us. This doesn’t mean we should forget, but we should forgive. Once forgiven we can move on and make way for a better beginning. Yet we will remember the past and use the knowledge of our mistakes to secure our perfect future.
“Whether or not you agree with my ideal of hope is up to you. You can go home today and forget everything I’ve said, or you can remember that whether you are the starving man or the wealthy businessman, you have an obligation to society. You have an obligation to care, and you have an obligation to do what is right, not ignore what is wrong. In your heart, you know what is right. In your heart, you know that the things which have been happening to my friends and I are happening too often and with little concern to the general public. These problems are not longer personal, but societal. Though you may not be the one directly making these things happen, you are still a member of this community of Americans. What are we without love? What are we without concern for our fellow human beings and what happens to the people of this country? Each and every one of us has a responsibility to our people and to our community, and it’s about time that we step up and start making this happen instead of ignoring what’s right in front of us.
“I stand before you today as a reminder of your obligation. It’s time for change, and time for healing. Remember that there are thirty-six million people in poverty in this country who worry about whether or not there will be food to put on the table or a place to live in. Remember that while white people in this country live peacefully that passive racism and economic disadvantages still exist for people of color. Remember that abuse and violence is at an all time high in this country, and that the government still fails to step in and help us fix these societal problems. Instead they spend money on foreign wars, funding dictatorships in other countries to keep the people oppressed and unable to object as we strip them of their resources. Instead, the government supports outsourcing our jobs and free trade zones in other countries, tricking them into a free market system that ultimately leads to their collapse. Instead of thinking of its people, our government has been meeting its own agendas and concerns without a second glance at what is going on within our own boarders.
“This is not my America. This is not what our forefathers had in mind. It is a time to be aware of these happenings instead of ignoring them. It is time to exercise our right as citizens to speak out and voice our opinions. We will not be silent, and we will not give up. You are my brothers and sisters, my aunts and uncles, and my cousins. We are above all, human, and this common bond is what should drive us to want real equality of opportunity instead of this fabricated web of ignorance that has been created over time.
“So I beg you, as a fellow human being, to not let America down. Being American is not about unquestioning faith and resistance to innovation. Don’t be afraid to questions, and don’t be afraid to disagree. Be who you are and what you believe in. Yet most importantly, be aware. Don’t close your eyes and don’t ignore, take in all sides and all thoughts and decide what it is you believe in. Live with an open mind and an open heart, and you will see that the world makes a whole lot of sense when it really comes down to it.
“My friends and I have learned this by knowing each other and experiencing the world first hand. Not all of it is pretty, most all of it isn’t easy, but it is what it is. We learn, we grow, we move on. What makes us human is our ability to want more. Not only do we experience, but we change and create. This is the very essence of what makes us unique and purely human. Though we have a great potential to create evil, we also have a great ability to create good, and I challenge you now to look at the world in a different way. I challenge you to forgive, to find hope, to change, and to want more. I challenge you to keep an open mind, to be aware, to create and to care. Maybe one day, though I am sure I will not live to see it, everyone will do this. Until then, one person can only set an example and create a ripple of change. So in conclusion, I challenge you to be that change along side of me and our fellow human beings to create a better community, and a better future. Thank you.”
Isabella was shocked to hear applause; she had become lost in her own words. Yet as she looked up she saw her mother crying and several faces staring straight at her with a marked sense of approval. Smiling to herself she only wished that the Society could be there to stand next to her. Yet deep down she knew they always would be, whether or not she could see them. Tia had been right, the bond they had would undoubtedly carry for as long as they lived, and suddenly an amazing sense of happiness swept over her.
“Thank you very much.” She said, and walked off the stage to greet her mother and siblings.