“Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can.” This was what John Wesley the founder of Methodism once said. The saying applies to everyone, but there is one person that actually proved it. This person was determined to do her job, caring enough to give up every thing for people she didn’t know, and so courageous that she left her home town to move to Mississippi at the age of 20. This person is my cousin Ali, and she deserves the “Big Person” Award.

Ali’s willingness to care for others is outstanding. About 3 years ago my cousin Ali and her family accept a foreign exchange student named Dech in to their home. He stayed with her family for a year. She not only welcomed him in kindly but also gave him her own bed and slept in the spare bedroom they had. Ali never left Dech out of things if she went somewhere, she asked him to come with. To this day she still keeps in contact with her good friend. Ali was like a mother to Kennedy and I; for instance, when Ali was in high school she helped out my parents by driving my sister and I around to summer school or sports or to a friend’s house. She also took care of us if my parents would have to go out of town; those were always the fun times when she would spend the nights at our house. Ali loved going to events that her family was in. When my sister and our cousins that are about the same age were young, Ali would always try to get to at least one of their sporting events because we would always go to hers. Ali gave everything for people in Mississippi that didn’t have anything. It was her chance to help others in a way she could work it out and she took it as soon as she had the chance.

Ali’s determination is one that can’t be cut short. She fought for a better position in every thing, whether it was sports or to be number one on the honor roll. Since she has moved down to Mississippi to work for a huge missionary, Ali has battled her way so she could get a higher position down there and she did. She is now one of the head officials at her camp that she works at. There she leads groups in feeding people and reconstruction for new buildings. Even though the holidays had arrived, Ali treaded on through work instead of going home to her friends and family. This past year she hadn’t come up for Thanksgiving, and was only here for about 3 days during Christmas. Her mother is the fuel to her determination. Ali has always looked up to her mom - yeah she probably fought with her but when she got over that, she really loved her. Her mom always inspired her to do as much as she could to help. Ali won’t stop doing what she is doing until she has helped everyone that she can. After she did some mission work during the summer in our church, she really liked it. She was good at it so that’s what started her determination. Ever since then she is still going 110 percent.


Courage is what brought Ali to where she is now. Hurricane Katrina wasn’t asked to hit the United States, it just happened, just like my cousin Ali wasn’t asked to go down to help with the damages she did it on her on free choice. Some of the work that Ali had to do was rebuilding houses, and working at churches that helped feed people that didn’t have food. To do this she had to come to a decision that she would have to put college aside until she felt like she had done her mission. Ali had to make another hard choice; she would have to leave her family and everyone she cared about so much to do this. That was most likely the hardest decision of them all as she is only able to see her loved ones maybe 3-5 times a year. Her friends and family miss her just as much as she misses us. To me I don’t think that many 20 year olds could have gone through this as easy as Ali has, but that’s how Ali’s courage really shows in her.

This just isn’t anyone that deserves this award; it’s my cousin Alison B. that should be the holder of the “Big Person Award”. Think about where you’re going to be in the future when you’re about 20 years old. Would you ever think about putting aside college, and leaving your friends and family at the age of 20? It would be one of the hardest decisions of your life. Now think about when you’re a parent. Having your son or daughter leave you, and only see you about 3 times a year. That is almost unimaginable.