Sarai
Education Together Scholarship Recipient
“I have two brothers that have Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. It’s, like, a really hard thing to think about, and it’s really upsetting sometimes. I’m a Christian. So, when you have Jesus to think about and all the good things he’s done for my brothers, it’s great…even though there are still sad things.
I had to step up, and help out my mom. It’s really hard to go to school and to take care of them. It definitely got a lot harder my junior year when I started working and doing all these extracurricular activities.
“Joy is different than happiness. Joy is…even though you get upset, you still have something to be happy about.”
So, I try to bring joy by…I try to be nice to everyone. Everyone has their difficulties, disabilities, and different things about them. And, you need to respect them.
I went earlier this year to Carolina Point, where I volunteered. I appreciated the camp a lot more after. We were just constantly working. Even though I worked so hard and my body was exhausted, it was awesome to know you were helping out these kids.
I’m really excited…I’m looking forward to everything [about going] to Mercer. At Mercer they’re so enthusiastic about everything, it’s like, ‘Wow. I fit here!’ I’m gonna do a sorority, and I’m going to be a Young Life leader. So, it’s going to be awesome.
My cross country coach, Ms. Julie Allen…she’s made everything a lot better because…she’s really just helped me push myself physically and mentally.”
Story written by Susannah Maddux. Photo by Maryann Bates.