Rotary Speech Contest Features Burlington High School Students

The annual speech contest sponsored by the Rotary Club of Burlington featured students from Burlington High School. The theme - Sowing the Seeds of Love - is the 2003 slogan of Rotary International.

The winner, Andrea H., received $100. All participants received a Rotary pen and the thanks of the Rotary club for a job well done.

Following are some highlights from the students' presentations:

"Sowing the Seeds of Love" has two important meanings for me. The first is that you have to work hard to accomplish what you like, and what you really want to achieve... The second was truly expressed across the United States and even in other countries in the days following 11 September 2001... It was amazing to see that we, as Americans, could come together and show our patriotism. The only regret or sadness I have is that it took an event like this to show it.
- Candice G.

In our world and in our communities there are those who proclaim hatred and distrust. They search to hurt others in hope of getting ahead, but much like the Soviet Union, their oppression will fall, so long as there is love in the world.
- Issac B.

We start showing everyone how we truly feel inside when we tell our friends and family that we care for them, and do it on a regular basis. It may seem so little, but it accomplishes a lot. Jean Baudrillard wrote, "Smile and others will smile back." If we share our feelings with our friends and family, not only will they show their feelings for us, but also to their friends and families. It would start a chain reaction spreading love all the way around the world.
- Trevor C.

Learning is a fundamental reason for humans to live. I don't necessarily mean learning in the classical sense like school, but just learning new things each day. Learning is what makes us get up each morning, even if we don't know it. When we learn to "Sow the Seeds of Love" our lives will never be the same.
- Markus W.

Service starts with one person, just like sewing starts with one stitch. Everyone is but a piece to a worldwide quilt. Every service project is merely a square, but when added to the quilt, it forms a masterpiece. So why not take the time to greet those people who look like they're in a slump. Or warn a neighbor hurrying by, "It's slippery, take your time." Or joing with your peer, voluntarily, to rescue and save lives. Or simply take an elderly citizen to the store, when they have not a ride... Society needs to come together and serve our fellow man, but each individual needs to put love back in the meaning of service.
- Andrea H.