Emma Lobraico receiving certificate from "President Lincoln" (Lewis Dube) for best essay
Best Essay:  Emma Lobraico 7th Grade

The death of 625,000 has stricken our country, leaving a nation to mend. The physical war may have ended, but the internal conflict is still trapped in our souls. Our nation's children should not have to grow up in a world where others will scowl at them for being from a different section of the country. One side of our nation may have overpowered the other, but both still stand strong. Courageous leaders still live and thrive in our world. Strong men are ready to be put into action, and become heroes. If the North and the South take each other's hand, a new golden era may begin. The United States of America can become a stronger, better and a more powerful country. Once we join hands, there are no obstacles in our way to achieve greatness.

Our people have a quality that not many other nations have, forgiveness. All people who have a loved one in war feel three emotions, fear, sorrow, and pride. People fear their loved ones will get hurt. People have sorrow when someone close to them dies or gets injured. People feel proud when a loved one becomes a hero, an American hero. Of all these emotions, the feeling of pride is the strongest, and these emotions are not just felt by the people of the North. They are not just felt by the people of the South. They are felt by everybody, whether you live in the United States of America, England, Spain or any country in the world. But when engaged in a civil war, it is not easy to forgive. I believe that we can, but it will take time.

Every town in our country, no matter how small, has men, who will fight for what they believe in. Oxford, Connecticut has a population of 1325 men, women and children. Although this town is small, it is powerful. 107 of our soldiers, our incredibly courageous soldiers, came from this town. Eighteen percent of these men died, never to return home. This town is just one example of settlements like these across the country. These towns show that no matter how small, people will always have big hearts.

Imagine if all of those small towns, like Oxford, came together to create something huge; something special. When our small towns join hands with our big cities, the power of forgiveness will take over, leaving a new nation. A nation that is stronger than before, more powerful than before, better than before. We will stand as one, rather than two, as brothers and sisters, rather than enemies. Doesn't that sound like the nation our founding fathers wanted? They did not wish for war, they did not wish for young men to have their lives taken away by fellow Americans. They wanted friendship, love, and forgiveness, not war, blood, and murder. Tomorrow is a new day, a new day to forgive others, and to start a new future for the United States of America