Kerden Sapp Critique

Book VII

To Kellen Sapp for showing me that I have an impact on others. When I was in middle school and junior high, I frequently helped with the children's ministry at my church. I was the designated choreographer for three children's musicals, so I got to spend a great deal of time with the children. There was one child in particular that I grew especially fond of. He reminded me a lot of myself. At the early musical recitals, I would often see him sitting quietly alone in the back of the room. I remembered being that child myself many year prior, so I made a point to sit beside him and talk to him. Once I had reached out to him, he would transform into a different individual and start participating and playing with all the other children.
At the event, we would spend all night at the zoo, get a personal lesson about a couple of animals, and take two private tours of various animal exhibits. At first, Kellen was quiet on the trip and sitting by himself in the back of the room. Like normal, when I noticed, I sat beside him and started to talk with him. Soon enough, he had emerged from his shell and started to energetically interact with the other kids. Afterwards, his mother sincerely thanked me for helping Kellen feel comfortable coming out of his shell. She told me that she has never seen him that social and that happy amongst a group of other children before. While I helped Kellen, he also helped show me that I can have a direct impact on the lives of
One of our activities was a canoe trip down the river. Since I was one of the people that had previously had experience canoeing, I was placed in a canoe with somebody that had never set foot in a boat before. This would not have been a problem, except she refused to assist me with the paddling of the craft. For the first half of the day, it was not too much of an issue. I was able to maneuver the boat on my own. However, after lunch, the physical demands of pulling along two people in a canoe by myself started to take a strain on me. I began to lag behind the group and every stroke of my paddle was accompanied with a burning pain. Thankfully, Emma took note of this struggle. Even though she was two years younger than me, she took the initiative to have our canoe partners switched out. Instead of dragging along two people by myself, I suddenly found myself with a partner that was equally matched with my ability and was putting in an equal effort. This task that had been so draining on me previously become unbelievably easy. I was finally able to enjoy my adventure. Emma's observative nature, optimism, and empathy reached far beyond her years. She set an example for what I should strive