2008 Winners - Essays, Poems and Song Lyrics

First Place Essay - Grades 7-8
Tara White

“Waiting is easier because..”

I know I am a gift. I know that I am special. Whoever receives me will be pleasantly surprised. I have never been opened. I am an extremely expensive gift. My value increases with age. Gifts this good are hard to come by. Whoever receives me will be pleasantly surprised. I have never been opened. I am not the game checkers. Those pieces are passed around the board the entire game. I’m a game that you can’t play until you open. My game follows my age. You have to be the right person to open my gift. I’m the gift that you may not receive at your wedding. They age so quickly, but not me; I have never been opened. I am a gift that will not be opened until I am sure that the person I belong to will take care of me , because I am fragile – that the person I belong to will love me, because I am special. Treasure me, because I am rare, because I am a virgin.

First Place Essay - Grades 9-12
Gylan Saunders

I Am Worth Waiting For

I am worth waiting for. Do you know why I wait? Waiting is easy because it proves my strength. I wait because I have respect for myself and for girls. I wait because I don’t want to be like everyone else. I have my own mind…I don’t need to follow the crowd. I wait because I want that to look forward to. I wait because I have a future that I don’t want to compromise. I wait because I do not want a sexually transmitted disease to compromise my health. I wait because I want to register for college classes, not parenting classes. I wait because I do not want to live a life of poverty as a result of being a young parent. I wait because I want to be a parent that my child looks up to- not as a young person who made a big mistake.

Sure…I want to be a parent someday, but first I want to be a high school student, a college graduate and a young person with a promising career. I want to see the world beyond this little city. I don’t want to be just anybody-I want to be somebody. Waiting is easier because it shows how much I value myself- and I am well worth waiting for.

First Place Poem - Grades 7-8
Alyssa Aldridge

Waiting- The Golden Rule

As a teenager, life can be tough.
Making important decisions is rough.
Our bodies are changing.
Our minds are rearranging.

A relationship or not, teens are deciding.
Our ideas are just not coinciding.
Many dreams and future goals,
Each heart skillfully withholds.

A poor decision made.
A choice regretted.
Against all Chatholic teaching,
And Scripture speakings.
As a teen, she had sex, you see.
Under great peer pressure was she.

She eventually conceived.
By her boyfriend, she was deceived.
In her time of true need,
He was out of sight indeed.
Now this girl waits.
Should she give up this child, she debates.

All her goals and dreams are gone.
She wonders how she will go on.
The point of this story is, you see.
All this was unnecessary.
No longer can she attend school and be cool.
Waiting should have been the golden rule.

First Place Poem - Grades 9-12
Maria Todaro

“Waiting Is Easier Beacause…”

In class we were told to do
a contest with rules
We had to complete a phrase
that is not usually cared about these days
So I decided to write a poem like I was talking to a friend
Here’s what I would say from start to end:

Waiting Is Easier and here is why
You are more precious than any money can buy
Do not give yourself away
to anyone before your wedding day
You will regret it if you do
And life will be harder than you knew
Your childhood will be gone
And you’ll be the mom

First Place Song Lyrics - Grades 9-12
Caitlin Queen

Abstinence

Waiting is easier
Because you have less stress
Abstinence the choice to make
You will not regret

You shall not have a baby
Till you are a married lady

If you do not wait
You will miss a ton
Instead of having time with friends
You will not have fun

Having a baby
At such a young age
Will make it very hard
To make minimum wage

Don’t be un-cool and drop out of school
Because you had a child
Instead of waiting a while

Once again
Waiting is the best
It is impressed on
Kids in the U.S.