MHS 9th grader’s essay on respect earns award

A Maricopa High School freshman received honorable mention in a countywide essay contest.

Fernando Ramirez was one of 3,400 students who participated in the Pinal County Juvenile Court Community Advisory Board’s annual Character Counts. Awards were announced May 9 at the Superior Court in Florence.

See Fernando’s essay below.

The Pinal County Juvenile Court Community Advisory Board (CAB) hosted the Annual Character Counts Essay Contest Awards Ceremony on Tuesday, May 9th at the Pinal County Superior Courthouse in Florence.

Winners in four age categories were chosen based on their essays about one of the six pillars of character:  responsibility, citizenship, respect, fairness, caring and trustworthiness. 

Division 1 (K-2): 1st Place Giana Piccirillo, Magma Ranch K-8/Florence; 2nd Place Ashlyn Pilkington, Red Rock Elementary/Red Rock; 3rd Place Jacqueline Chacon, Magma Ranch K-8/Florence; Honorable Mention Kaiden Hurley, Ranch Elementary/San Tan Valley

Division 2 (3-5): 1st Place Viviana Ramos Yanes, Mesquite Elementary/Casa Grande; 2nd Place Katelin Kazmierczak, Circle Cross Ranch K-8/Florence; 3rd Place Eden Smith, Florence K – 8 School /Florence; Honorable Mention Siennah Rios, Magma Ranch K-8/Florence

Division 3 (6-8): 1st Place Elizabeth Cook, Cactus Middle School/Casa Grande; 2nd Place Audrey Solomon, St. Anthony of Padua Catholic/Casa Grande; 3rd Place Hannah Parker, Walker Butte Leadership School/San Tan Valley; Honorable Mention Kylie Kastl, St. Anthony of Padua Catholic/Casa Grande       

Division 4 (9-12): 1st Place Caitlyn DeArman, Florence High School/ Florence; 2nd Place Dalton Baker, Florence High School/ Florence; 3rd Place Emma O’Shea, Florence High School/ Florence; Honorable Mention Fernando Ramirez, Maricopa High School/Maricopa

It’s not the clothes that I wear or the car that I drive that make me what I
am inside. It’s not the shoes on my feet or the gold on my wrist that define who
you see. It’s the respect that I have for myself and for others that has allowed me
to live a good life.

I have a beat in my heart and air in my lungs. I have a brain to respect a
difference in opinion. I value myself, my family, and my community. Good
manners is something I was taught from an early age. I use kind words to
express myself. I never have once laid hands on another person to hurt or harm
them because I respect others and I respect myself.

Everyone should be respectful to live a good life. Don’t take it from me if
you don’t want. I’m only 14 and still have much to learn. But look at your life and
ask yourself this…Do others respect me? Do I respect others? Do I respect
MYSELF? If the answer is yes to all three, I congratulate thee for you have
learned to live your life by the Golden Rule.