Lana Rubinstein is in the 7th grade at Meyer Middle School. She is Russian born. She hopes to become a poet when she grows up. She attends classes weekly at Mount Zion Temple where she is studying to become Bat Mitzvah.
PROSE - 2009
Grades 7 - 9
First Place - Baila Elkin
Second Place - Lana Rubinstein
Third Place - Solomon Polansky
Grades 10 - 12
First Place - Annie Fishman
Prose, Grades 7 - 9: Second Place
Believe - Lana Rubinstein
“If you believe, you can do whatever you want to do.” Whatever; who needs words like that?
My mom would say to me, “Because you’ll need them later on in life.” Well, you know what mom? I have gone through 16 years of life, and have not once needed to use, nor think about those words. Just going through life, young and carefree, not needing ever to think about those words.
Until recently… in school, we were asked to write an essay about what we wanted to be when we grew up. Little did I know that this assignment would change my life forever.
Ever since I was 3 or 4 years old, I knew that I wanted to be a veterinarian. When I was in fifth grade, my cat died of old age. Even though there was nothing we could do, the pain I felt was worse than any physical pain. Ever since that time, I have never wanted others to feel that way, so that was when I set my heart on becoming a vet. Now exactly how to achieve this dream was the question. I had never given the idea of becoming a veterinarian much thought, which might sound strange considering that I wanted to become one. Deep down inside, I just knew that was what I wanted to be.
At times, the thought of becoming a veterinarian was too much to take in, and another career choice would distract me. When the excitement about that one dwindled away, I would always return to becoming a veterinarian. My mom would hardly seem surprised when I would come home and announce, “I have changed my career choice.”
She would just smile, and say those words, “If you believe, you can do whatever you want to do.” There, those words again. I would tell my mom, that if I heard those words one more time, I would go insane. Well, I never did go insane, and hopefully never will. Those words kept swirling around in my mind, and I thought about my long held dream to become a vet. I decided right then and there that I would do whatever it took.
As I thought about those words, I realized that they might actually have a meaning. The words, “If you believe, you can do whatever you want to do,” meant that you had to trust yourself, and work for it. Those words meant that you needed to prove that you could accomplish the task ahead.
I didn’t know how hard and how fun it would be. All the next month, I interviewed the vets in my area. When I was sitting at home, I talked to my parents about my dream; I did research, and typed up papers. I made flyers, and spoke to my teachers. I never hesitated to tell people what I was after. I did EVERYTHING I vowed to do.
Eventually, I turned in my assignment, and I received an A+. I was so excited. The next week, I went to the veterinary office, and asked if I could volunteer for about a week, just to see what it was like. They agreed, and I promised to be at the office bright and early the next morning.
And bright and early I was. I awoke at 6 o’clock, and drove over to the office. A vet I hadn’t met came to the front desk when I walked in, and I said timidly, “One of the other vets said I could volunteer here for a while.” He just gave me a blank stare and said that I should wait there while he went to talk to the owner.
He came back about 5 minutes later, and now he had a smile on his face. He told me that one of the assistants had just become ill, and that I could take her place for about a week. I was so excited, and happy that I would finally get a chance to try out my dream. My only worry was that I might accidentally harm an animal, As if sensing my fear, the vet looked at me and said, “I can tell you’re worried that you might kill an animal, but that won’t happen.” His words lessened my fear.
For that whole week, I worked harder than I had ever worked in my life. I checked the animals for sickness, I helped out when the vets needed it, and I was happy that I had actually gotten to try out my dream. The only thing that was upsetting was that the week was over. I would have to say good-bye to the animals I had made friends with. As I said good-bye to the vets, one of them, the one who had met me on the first day, said, “How would you like to work here for a summer job?” My voice seemed to have left me, so I just nodded. Summer break was only a couple of weeks away, and I couldn’t wait.
As I drove along the road, I realized that I had done what had seemed impossible. When I knew that I wanted to be a vet, I worked until I accomplished that. That knowledge that I had done it was so exciting that I gave a little laugh of happiness. It also gave me a sense of power, knowing that I could accomplish basically anything, if I really set my heart on it, and worked for it.
As I walked in the door, my mom was waiting for me. She must have seen the smile on my face because she hugged me, and said, “When I used to say these words, you would say that you were going to go insane, but now I know you won’t, so ‘If you believe, you can do whatever you want to do.’”
I looked up into her face, and said, “Thanks mom, I knew that those words would come in handy some day.”