Courageous kids: (From left to right) Edwin Quezada Peguero, 12; Evan Ostapchuk, 13; and Pamela De La Rosa,12. (Photos courtesy of MAXCourage)

In 1991, Max Warburg, an 11-year-old Boston resident with an indomitable spirit, died of leukemia. The courage he showed in the face of his horrible illness so moved his parents, Stephanie and Jonathan Warburg, that they founded a nonprofit organization in his memory that developed a curriculum centered on the concept of courage for use in schools. MAXCourage, a free integrated English language arts and social emotional learning curriculum, developed 32 years ago in partnership with Boston Public Schools, is now used across Boston, nationally, and internationally. The program guides middle school students to explore the role of courage in texts they read, in the communities they live in, and in their own lives. As the culminating activity, participating students write personal narrative essays about their own lived experience of courage. MAXCourage publishes at least one of these stories from each participating school, afterschool, or summer program in an annual anthology of student writing, providing a platform to amplify young people’s voices and help them connect with writing as a tool for self-discovery. Below are three essays from the 2024 anthology.

Edwin Quezada Peguero, 12 years old
Joseph P. Tynan Elementary School
Boston

My brother was upset again. He wanted to go outside. I told my mom, “Ma, ¿Puedo llevar a Liam a caminar?” (Ma, can I take Liam for a walk?) She nodded, and I opened the door and took Liam for a walk down the street.

After a few minutes, he started to calm down, so I brought him back inside. On another day, my brother was upset, throwing a fit and screaming, and he knocked over a vase, breaking part of it. I wasn’t mad at him. I simply grabbed his tablet, gave it to him, and started playing a game with him to calm him down.

This is all part of my everyday life with my four-year-old brother. As an older brother, I am always afraid of my younger brother being hurt by someone else. I never want him to be hurt by someone else, especially since he has autism.

Edwin Quezada Peguero

Having a brother with autism is stressful and a lot of work. I have to make sure he eats, drinks his formula to get the nutrients he needs, and I even have to give him medicine. You never know when he can get upset and throw a fit.

Sometimes, I help my mom cook. When Liam is hungry, she usually makes fries for him, or tostónes, which are flattened fried plantains. They are very common in the Dominican Republic, and Liam loves them.

He enjoys them so much that sometimes he eats mine! I don’t get mad. I simply let him eat if he’s still hungry. It’s fine.

When he makes a mess, I try to clean it up. He doesn’t know how to clean it up, but he tries when he can. He picks up his blocks and puts them back into the box.

Whenever he’s upset, I try to make him laugh by tickling him. I try to do anything I can do to make him happy.

Some people may find it embarrassing to have a brother with autism. Liam sometimes misbehaves and isn’t easy to deal with, but I honestly love my brother. I remind myself to not get angry with him, because he can’t help the things he does. Being mad and angry isn’t good for his mental health, and
it isn’t good for mine.

Courage means being patient and being there during the ups and downs that
people go through. It may not be easy all the time, but I have the courage to not give up on him.

I thank God for giving me a brother like Liam. He has made me happier ever since he was born.

Evan Ostapchuk, 13 years old
Barnstable Intermediate School
Barnstable

It’s dangerous to have cystic fibrosis, but I will not let it control my life or the things that I do. 

Cystic fibrosis causes thick sticky mucus to build up in the lungs, digestive tract, and other areas of the body. It’s dangerous because kids like me are in the hospital because their CF is worse than mine. One thing about CF is I have to do treatments to make my lungs stronger but I am grateful that I do not have to live at the hospital. 

Some  people in my school want to learn about CF. People ask me what it’s like having CF and I tell them some are not good cases and some are not bad cases, but it could be dangerous to have because, if two people with CF are in the same room one of them could get very sick and die. 

Evan Ostapchuk

Having cystic fibrosis takes courage. You have to push through every time when things are difficult.

I was six years old when the doctor told my mother and father that I had CF. I was sick a lot and my mother and father didn’t know what was wrong. 

As I got older, my doctor explained to me that I wouldn’t be able to play football and other sports that could cause me to get hurt. I was sick and had to miss many days of school so that I could get better. It was difficult for me to catch up with all of the tests and quizzes that I missed. 

Sometimes I felt angry at myself because I was different and could not do the same things that other kids could do. I missed a lot of school. I had tutoring in the summer, but I did all my extra work so I could get better at reading and math.

I always have to go to Boston Children’s Hospital, where I see Dr. Perkins. He tells me that I’m the same as other kids. That gives me courage to do different activities. I do motocross and it gives me a lot of pride that I am a kid with cystic fibrosis racing in this sport.

I love doing motocross. Every time I go to the track with my dad, I always have to take a puff of my inhaler before going onto the track. If I don’t take a puff before, I will run out of breath and I will be tired and hot from my gear that I wear. Even though I put my body through a lot, I do it for fun and I won’t let my CF control me.    

I have to live with CF for my whole life. It upsets me that there are some activities I can’t do, but the best thing is my doctors are working toward a cure. When I get cured, that’s going to make me so happy, grateful, and joyful.

I will power through when I get sick or get surgery. If I have a bad day, my friends and my family put a smile on my face and give me the courage to make me feel good about myself. That is how I deal with my cystic fibrosis every day.

Pamela De La Rosa, 12 years old
William H. Ohrenberger School
Boston

If you’d asked someone, “What do you think courage means?” or “What does it mean to be courageous?” they would probably say it means doing something that may scare or terrify you.

What courage means to me is to have strength in any situation, whether it’s upsetting, scary, or disturbing, even if you don’t want to face it, or do it. You are courageous when, even if you’re grieving, hurting, and scared of what might happen next, you’ll still do it. That is what courage means to me.

Many people are courageous. For example, Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks showed courage. They both stood up for what they believed in, which was justice. They both made a change during the discriminatory time they lived in. They are both remembered to this day.

Pamela De La Rosa

Last year, I experienced something I never had before. On September 15th, 2023, I got pulled from class. My mom was there to pick me up, though I didn’t have an appointment that day. She told me not to worry, and that I had an appointment she forgot to tell me about.

Mom had an odd look on her face. She looked like there was something she wasn’t telling me, as if she were worried. I brushed it off. When we arrived at my therapist, I was still confused. My mom walked in with me. We sat down. Then that’s when they told me.

Mom had gotten a call from the hospital that day, and they said that my dad was dead. I did not believe them at first. There was no way, right? He was in a brutal car accident in late July. He was in and out of the hospital, until he stayed. My dad fought and fought till the day he died.

I was devastated. After they told me, I was quiet. Quieter than I had ever been before. That was all I wanted to hear — the silence. I went home, and I stayed in my room and didn’t want to leave. It was my safe place. At that moment, I began thinking and thinking about how different my life was about to become. How was I supposed to live without him? How was I supposed to cope with this news? How was the rest of my family coping with it?

Since that I day, I haven’t felt the same. I started being angrier, but not at myself, at the world. I yelled more often, mostly at my mom, even though I shouldn’t have.

My mom is the person I trust the most, but in those moments I didn’t trust her. I also felt like the world was out to get me, or like every bad thing in life was because of me.

I didn’t tell anyone how I felt — until today. Writing this doesn’t make me feel the best, but it does let me get some things off of my chest.

Coping has been a struggle for me. But it’s nice to know that there are people that are by my side, and that there are people in the world who have been through what I’ve been through. It’s nice to know that I’m not alone, and other people should know that, too.

So, in my opinion, being courageous or showing courage is something that everyone should and can do. Courage means to have strength, no matter the situation, even when you’re really scared or hurting inside. I am pretty familiar with showing courage.