The Story
By Sydney

In the novel, Pay it Forward, a teacher gives an assignment that seems a little odd. He wants a child to change the world or at least try. One child, Trevor McKinney, put his pay it forward idea into action. Some things failed but he kept going; it ended up that the things he thought failed actually didn’t.

My assignment was to carry out three pay it forward ideas and try to get others to pay it forward. The most difficult part in doing so is coming up with ideas and to stick with them. Also, big ideas equal big planning. Also, don’t give up… ever.

When I was making up ideas, I felt nervous that I had to do such a helpful and courageous thing for not just one but three people. I decided to do something for my neighborhood. My community is not social and I wanted to get people talking. I wanted to have a picnic for the people in my neighborhood but because I had to pay it forward before the school year ended, (June 6th) I couldn’t do so. I felt disappointed and discouraged. I still wanted to help the neighborhood and we had new neighbors just move in; I chose to give them a housewarming gift of some kind. My plans ended great because the new neighbors seemed to fit the personality to pay it forward. They cared about our world and were able to use the honor system. They knew exactly how pay it forward worked.  
After my feelings about my first idea and having to change it, I was determined to do something big without getting turned down. I wanted to help my father, a single parent, because he does so much for my brother and I all by himself. From cooking to getting us places, my dad does it all. I baked him special dark chocolate brownies to show my appreciation for his work. Brownies are his favorite food and dark chocolate is his favorite kind of chocolate. The best part was that I’ve never seen my dad happier. I picked my dad because I think he will pay it forward because he is the kind of man that never lets anyone down no matter how long it takes.

My little brother, as with all brothers, is sometimes the sweetest, cutest little thing, then other times he can be the devil and I want him away from me. My mom has to deal with the devilish side of him every night when she reads to him. I thought I could help her and my brother… by reading to him! My little brother ended up happier than my mom did because he wanted me to read to him now instead of my mom. I felt wonderful, even though my mom didn’t, and it wouldn’t of worked if I gave up after my first idea.

Throughout this entire experience, I’ve learned so many things that I will keep with me for the rest of my life. One: it’s not the idea; it’s the person that makes the idea big. Two: thinking of ideas and sticking with them is the hardest part. Three: big ideas equal big planning. Four: never give up. The most important thing I learned was that it will take something huge to impact me as much as this has. This experience made me think about others for once.