By, Caitlin

One person, one idea. Who would have known it would change so many lives? My teacher introduced Pay It Forward to my Reading class. We had to help three other people, and give them a card found on the Pay It Forward web site. I

My first ideas of Pay It Forward was to clean the tub, if someone dropped their books then I would help them and the final thing was to clean someone' s yard. My plans changed when I helped my very first Pay It Forward person. The first person was a woman who let me baby-sit her child for the first time. The woman is my aunt who lives not so far away. One day she asked if I could baby-sit her for awhile. Soon she came back. She was going to pay me, and she asked how much. I said three other people. Then I handed her the card and asked her to Pay It Forward. I explained the whole concept of Pay It Forward. She said she would Pay It Forward. After my first Pay It Forward person, I said that I would said that I would clean the yard and give a gift when it wasn't their birthday. Again my plans changed when I did my second Pay It Forward deed. Cleaning the yard full of weeds was my second Pay It Forward deed. I helped my mom with the yard work. She said she was going to pull the weeds. I asked if I could help for a Pay It Forward deed. She said yes. My mom will Pay It Forward too. When I only had one more person to help, I asked my dad for ideas. He said that I could ask a person that I know and ask if I could clean and organize her basement. When I asked she said yes, but the time it came for me to help, she was sick! Then I realized that I could organize my dad's garage. I proposed the idea and he said yes. When I will clean the garage for my dad he will be there to help me. I 'm planning clean the garage on the weekend of June 11th. I will organize and clean his garage. My dad works in another school district then I go to. My dad said he would carry it through to the district he works at. Some things I learned was that you have to pull the roots out of the weeds, or else they will grow back. That Science fact was learned with the pulling the weeds deed. I also learned from baby-sitting was that you have to go slowly with the activity or else the child will get bored and you won't have any thing else to give the child! I will carry Pay It Forward through out the summer. I am so glad I had to opportunity to carry the Pay It Forward project in my school and to other schools and affect the people I helped. Again thank you for the opportunity for letting me Pay It Forward.

Bre's Story:

I am a sixth grade student and for a reading project we had to use the pay it forward concept by helping three people and seeing the process in which the three actually go about. The purpose wasn't to see if it worked, but to see the process of which you would have to go and help the three or even more if you were a generous person. Once I found out we were doing this for our marking period project, I went to the local library and borrowed the book,"Pay It Forward," by Catherine Ryan Hyde.When I finished the great book I felt like I was going to cry because of all that was going on in this ficitional story. All though this was ficitional you could imagine the pain everyone had to go through in the story and Catherine Ryan Hyde created the book so realisticly. Doing the reading project I was having a hard time coming up with 3 people to help. Everytime my family and I got in the car and drove to our destination I couldn't help but notice all the litter at the end of my road. It started to get my brain working, I began to think that maybe I could get my mom to help me to pick up the litter at the end of my road. I didn't just pick my mom for any reason. She is always saying that someone should pick up the trash although noone ever would. So I decided maybe she would like to help me and then when she says thank you, maybe even try to pay me with some cash thats when I would tell her about pay it forward. Of course she would have to do it because I would be home with her reminding her to pay it forward to three people. When I asked her she said she would but her problem with it was finding the time to pick up the litter. Our family was doing something basically everyday of the week and it would be hard to fit something in. I told my mom that I would talk to Miss McCallus ( my teacher) about and get back to her. The next day I told Miss McCallus my problem and she said it would be fine to do it in the summer as long as I did all the planning for it. I said yes because my mom would be a lot less busier in the summer time so I thought that it would work So I had one person down, but I was still having a hard time coming up with two other people. I never would've thought that it was going to be this hard. I talked to my teacher and told her that I was having trouble and she just told me to keep my eyes and ears open to the community around me. She also suggested that I talk to the guidance counselor or principals. So that same day I took a trip down to the office and found that she did have a few ideas of what I might be able to do if I was interested. She knew of a couple people in a class that might need some help with school. She left that option for me to decide with my mom, but once she explained to me what I would be doing, I was already thinking yes. I knew my mom would go along with it too as long as I was comfortable with what I was doing. So the next day I went back to meet with Mrs. Cekovich( the guidance counselor) and told her that yes I would gladly tutor someone. I thought that I would only be tutoring one student but when I got to the room I realized that I would be tutoring multiple students, whoever needed help at that time. So once I was done helping them with their projects I would tell them about the pay it forward concept. By the end of the period I probably helped at least five people. I didn't just pick three of those five to tell about pay it forward, I told them all in hope that even if one person doesn't participate in this amazing concept that the other three or maybe four will. Two down one too go. You would've thought that it would be easy to see people that need help. Well, it isn't that easy. It was nearing the end of the school year and my teacher told me to watch around the schoool to see if any teacher or student needed any help. I was looking around and then it hit me. I could help one of my teachers take down their room for the summer. I decided to ask my math teacher because he had so many posters in his room and I thought he might appreciate the help. I asked him and he said yes with joy. I was glad because now I had the three people I needed. I would be helping my math teacher during the last week of school so I needed to make sure that it was okay to count him as one of my three people since I wouldn't be doing it until after the project is due. She said okay as long as I have all of my planning done. I was glad because even if she said no I was going to help him anyway because he seemed so excited when I told him I would help him. He also thought the pay it forward concept was a good idea and he hopes that it will work. When it was nearing the last week of school I asked him what day he would like me to stay after school he said that On the last couple days of school I could just get the whole class involved. Then I wouldn't have to stay after school plus it will go a lot faster if the whole class is helping. Hopefully the pay it forward concept will be kept alive as people keep getting helped around the world. In the future I will try to be more helpful instead of walking on by because I learned how the pay it forward process can help people in such a way that I can not explain. Sometimes it could save peoples lives like Jerry did in the book. So if you are reading this please try to pay it forward if you have the time. It doesn't have to be today, it doesn't have to be tomorrow either just sometime when you have nothing to do take the time to do something for others and you might get something back for yourself too. Not money, just a good feeling inside yourself that touches you.

Lauren's Story In my reading class we were assigned to pay it forward to3 people in our family school or community. After reading the excerpt from the book we had to come up with brainstorms of things to do it was difficult for me at first but after I started coming up with things to do they just started coming to me. The ideas that I decided to carry through were to help my dad clear the thorns around the path by our pond, help my sister with football, and help my mom groom her friend's dog. The very first idea I had was, to help my dad get rid of the thorns. This was my very first idea and it came to me when my dad was saying that he wanted to do something about the thorns one day. We went down to where the thorns were in the tractor and then we tied the thorns up and drove the tractor where we were going to burn them all. After that I ran up to the house and got us both a drink. While I was helping my dad I was having a lot of fun. Helping my dad made me realize that helping someone and doing work can be fun. Because I did this the path around the pond will be easier to access. The second idea to pay it forward was to help my sister with football. I got this idea when my sister was truly going to play football in the fall. This idea did not take much work but it was very enjoyable. First we just passed the football and then we worked on tackling. I think that this will make my sister a better football player. I think that my sister was very grateful that I helped her with football. My final idea for pay it forward was to help my mom groom her friend's dog. We took the dog to our house, gave her a bath, brushed her out and cut her hair. As I was helping to groom the dog I was feeling very proud because I had finished all three pay it forward projects. I never thought that I would be able to finish them, but I did. I think that my mom's friend's husband will be grateful because he will not have to deal with as much dog hair. I think that my mom's friend and her husband will be very thankful that they will not have to pay to get their dog groomed, instead they will pay it forward to other people. When I was pulling down thorns, helping my sister with football, and helping to groom my mom's friends dog I was having a good time. Paying it forward has made me realize how much fun it can be to help people.

Megan's Story

In my 6th grade reading class, we read a middle school excerpt from the book Pay It Forward. Then we were to try the concept and make a journal about our emotions and experiences, including if we were skeptic, hopeful, or aggravated. Trying to pay it forward was a roller coaster of emotions, with all sorts of different feelings. My first pay it forward was to my mother. I cleaned the downstairs bathroom, toilet and all. In the past, every time my mom wanted me to do a chore similar to that, I'd moan and groan. I'd try to avoid the work. When I paid it forward to my mother, I discovered it was easy to keep a positive attitude, if you want to; you can make your own choice. I explained the concept to my mom, but she already understood; she had seen the movie! I was sure she'd pay it forward to be supportive of me. Since that was my first pay it forward, I was hopeful about the project's success! My second pay it forward was to my brother. I instant messaged my brother, while he was still at college, about pay it forward. At first he didn't seem too interested. He actually told me to ask some of my friends because it would be much easier for him. I think he said this because he was busy. This aggravated me. I was frustrated for quite awhile and was also ashamed of him. Didn't he want to change the world? Did he have to be so selfish? Finally I persuaded him to at least try. I told him the effort was all that counted, but if I believed that, I did not know. Then, when he came home, I told him I'd help him unpack his room. He procrastinated and when it was time for me to help, he didn't let me help much. He probably didn't want me touching his stuff, but at least I put in the effort. Pay it forward has taught me that effort counts for a lot, not just results. After these though, I felt skeptic about the concept. I always had. Would people actually pay it forward? Could I change the world? Does what I do matter? I contemplated on all these things as I tried preparing for my third pay it forward. I will be trying to do my third pay it forward soon, washing my dad's car. Weather hasn't been agreeing with me, and neither has good health. It was raining on the day I wanted to wash my dad's car and to make things worst, I was sick too. This was another reason why Pay It Forward was a roller coaster of emotion, the difficulties planning out what we were going to do and when. Recently, I've been checking back with the two people who I paid it forward to, my mother and brother. Both of them have not been paying it forward. I don't think they have been thinking about it either. Do you think I have failed? I don't think I have! I have become a better person and feel like I have worth. It has made me realize I had more value than I knew. I have tried to change in the world. Maybe that hasn't happened, but I made a miniscule difference in two people's lives, and that's still an accomplishment. I felt different about this as I went along. Sometimes I had hope, sometimes I had anger, and sometimes I had a mixture of many other emotions. That's just all a part of the roller coaster though and like the end of a winding rollercoaster, you feel like you are floating, or at least on this roller coaster.

Ally's Story

I did a project about Pay It Forward in my reading class. We didn't have to necessarily read the book or watch the movies, but we had to do the concept in the book. We had to do one good thing for three different people and have them pay it forward. The way that it tied into reading was that we had to keep a journal about everything that we did for Pay It Forward, then at the end of the marking period, we shared the journal with our classmates. These are the three things that I did for Pay It Forward, and hopefully after you read this you will be willing to do Pay It Forward also. The first good thing that I did was walking my neighbors' dog Roxy. It was a big help to my neighbor that I walked Roxy, because they are usually very busy and don't have much time to walk her daily. After I walked Roxy, I forgot to tell my neighbor about Pay It Forward, so a few days later I went back and told her. She had seen the movie before, so she knew that she had to Pay It Forward. I had originally thought she would pay it forward, but it's been a few weeks now and she hasn't told me yet if she paid it forward. The second good thing that I did was baby sit one of my other neighbors' two kids. Their names are Marisa and Ryan, and Marisa is 8, Ryan is 4. When I talked to my neighbor to set up a date for me to baby sit, we had picked Friday, May 21st. However, something came up that day so I wasn't able to baby sit. My neighbor is extremely busy and I still haven't gotten the chance to talk to her and pick a new date. Eventually when I do get to baby sit, I hope that she will appreciate it, and Pay It Forward. I think that she will pay it forward, because she is a really kind person who does things nice for people all the time. The last thing that I am actually still in the process of doing, is donating stuffed animals to the Ronald McDonald House in Hershey, PA. About a week ago I called to ask them if they take donations, and they said I could definitely donate the stuffed animals. When I talked to the person who answered the phone, she was very friendly, and that made me a lot more confident because I was talking to someone who is easy to talk to. She said that I could bring the stuffed animals anytime, so my Mom is driving me up this weekend, so I can deliver the stuffed animals personally. I think that donating the stuffed animals will make a bigger impact than the little things like walking a dog and baby-sitting. Technically, I will also be helping more than one person, I will be helping a group of people. If I help many people as opposed to one person, than I have better chances of it being paid forward. It would be really great if all the kids who get stuffed animals pay it forward, because then lots of people would be helped. I learned a lot from Pay It Forward and from this project. I learned a lot about the world and society, and what most of the people are like. I learned that it is important to always be kind and help someone when they are in need. Pay It Forward is the kind of concept that would work technically, but not in the real world. If you try to Pay It Forward and change the whole world, it won't happen. There are always some people who just don't care, and that's a shame because if we could change the world, everything would be perfect.

Aaron's Story

Hello my name is Aaron. I'm a middle school student from Central Pennsylvania. For reading class, we got an assignment called pay it forward. I heard about the movie on a commercial, but I didn't think it was a book, or that the concept had gone this far. I found out it did, and was amazed. Pay it Forward is an awesome idea. It will take a while because people find it easier to pay someone back than to help someone else. I live in a new development where houses are constantly going up around me. I decided to take advantage of the fact that there were workers working there all the time. Knowing how thirsty I get just playing outside, I decided that because the workers probably get thirstier than me, I would give them a six-pack of Pepsi. At first, I thought that they were not going to pay it forward, but later on, it seemed like they took a little interest in the idea. I am hopeful that when the go to other places to build the will pay it forward, to someone that could use something they could give. With all the rain we've been having, the grass is growing pretty fast. So, I decided that I would mow someone's lawn for free and then explain to them about pay it forward. Since no one around my house is that old that they don 't work or go to some sort of college, the people could probably find someone they in turn could help to continue the pay it forward movement. I think that they will pay it forward because they know that it is the "right thing to do", and that it is better than having to pay money. I know that should not be the reason, but as long they pay it forward with some kind of feeling, people will still continue to pay it forward. S, this will keep the movement going.

My computer teacher is moving to another school, and she has to take all her posters down. For a pay it forward assignment I decided to help her by taking them down forward. She is a nice person and will probably pay it forward to someone in her other school. You can trust good teachers to do good things. That is why I picked her for my pay it forward assignment. I am short and lightweight so I could easily stand on the tables to take all the staples out.

In the beginning I said that I only heard of the movie from commercial. Now I haven't just heard about more, I've experienced. I hope that people will continue to three until it gets so big that you will get helped from someone else. You can make a pay it forward event out of so many things you do. People help almost everyday with things they may not usually help you with. Then, if you take it upon yourself to use that as a pay it forward reason, more power to you. Why stop at three? If you help 5 people, and those 5 people help 3 people each, instead of helping 12 people you're helping 20 people. If more people knew about this the world would be a better place.

Jordan's Story

Pay it Forward

Have you ever heard of pay it forward? You may have seen the movie or the read the book. But have you ever tried the pay it forward concept? The basic idea is to do a nice thing for three different people. Then you tell them to do the same thing, and tell them to tell about pay it forward to who they pay it forward to, so that it turns into a chain reaction. This is what I did for a gifted program at my school. Overall, I thought that it went well. However, I'm not sure if others will actually pay it forward. My first pay it forward was to my sister. What I did is I bought a crab for my sisters aquarium because she loves adding to her aquarium. But I forgot to tell my sister about the concept until the next day. When I did tell her about it, she didn't act interested. When I would remind her about it, she would either ignore me or tell me that she forgot or couldn't think of an idea. I don't think that these are good excuses because all she would have to do is something small. But eventually, she did a pay it forward to my mom. After that, I gave a kid that I sat with in science a dollar to go to a school dance. When I told him about pay it forward, he didn't seem interested. However, a few days later, he told me that he did a pay it forward to his sister and his mom. This proves me wrong in my idea. Another pay it forward I did was when I helped my friend pick up his books in the hallways of my school. However, the halls were busy, and I didn't have time to tell him about pay it forward. After a long while, I didn't see him and decided I needed to do another pay it forward to make up for that one. The pay it forward I used to make up for the messed up pay it forward was that I helped my mom bake a cake, wash dishes, and set the table. My mom was also helped out when my sister paid it forward to her. Now I have some thoughts about the pay it forward concept. One thing that I believe is that pay it forward can't change the world. Eventually, people will either ignore pay it forwards or they will forget about it. Another thing I learned is that you should never think that someone will just blow off a pay it forward favor. But, as I said earlier, someone will eventually forget or ignore. I'm not saying that you shouldn't pay it forward. I mean, anything could happen, and it is nice to help people, but realistically the odds of that happening are almost impossible. So, that's my pay it forward experience. It is a good thing to do, and if you do a huge pay it forward, it could just change a life.