One sweltering summer afternoon I ascended to the top of the tall Sycamore tree in my front yard. I reached the top and sat admiring the beauty of the tree when I heard a voice from below me.

“Hey you! How’d you get up there?” I heard her holler. I peered down at my visitor and replied

“Well, I climbed.”
I didn’t have time to reply before she began to climb the trunk of the tree, in a moments time she had reached the top and scooted next to me.

I had never seen this girl before, and little did I know...she was on the verge of changing my life.

Our conversation began somewhat like this: “How many siblings do you have?” She quizzed. ?
“Five, Six if you include me,” I replied, “What about you?”

“One, two if you count my brother.”
‘If you count your brother?’ I thought. “Why wouldn’t you count him?” I asked. She waited a moment and then answered solemnly,

“He died last year...of SIDS.” Seeing the puzzled look on my face she explained further, “It stands for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. It’s where babies die unexpectedly, but no one knows why.”

“I’m so sorry,” I murmured, and I truly meant it.

“Don’t be.” She said sternly, “Because of this I know exactly what I want to be when I get older. I’m sure that is why this happened. It’s so that I can change the world.”

“And what is it you are going to do?” I asked.

“When I row up I’m going to find out what causes SIDS and I’m going to stop it. Not one person should have to go through what we did. To those families who kids would have died I will be a superhero.”

I sat with admiration towards the stranger sitting next to me. But she wasn’t just any stranger any more. She was a stranger with a dream, will, and determination stronger than any adult I had ever met, and she was just a mere 10 year old girl. Instead of wallowing away in sorry like she could have been, she had taken her trial and used it to shape her future.

She broke the silence by saying, “Well I best be on my way,” and began descending down the tree. “It was nice to meet you,” And with that final world she left me in the silence of the sycamore.

Since that day I have had trails of my own, and each time I think of the girl that I met in the tree. I think of her story...of her attempt to make the future a happy place, and I used her influence to make mine better too.

I haven’t seen her since that day, but I can still see the determination in her eyes. I wish to meet her again so that I can thank her for leaving me better than the way she had found me, but that day may never come. For now her sweet spirit still influences how I come out of my trials.

Her story is one that should be taken into the hearts of everyone. That the future is what you make of it, and you can choose to make it great.