Rotary Club of Pismo Beach / Five Cities
Anna Miller, Third Place
Grade 8, Middle School Division
Mrs. Fierman , Judkins Middle School
“You’re out Anna! You’re out!”
The girls that I thought were my friends suddenly were my enemies.
They ganged up on me to make me lose the basketball game, and
now they were saying mean things and making fun of me. One of my
best friends, Chloee, had a new friend and now that new friend was
trying to take her away from me. Even Chloee was following the
crowd and yelling at me. I felt hurt, embarrassed, and alone.
Suddenly I heard a voice say, “You guys aren’t being very nice!
Anna, you can come and play with me.” It was my friend, Amelia.
She wasn’t playing the game, but she saw what was happening. She
came over and stuck up for me. I felt so much better. I was amazed
that my friend had so much courage to stand up to a group like that.
This happened three years ago and I still remember it very clearly.
At school I learned about the Four Way Test. It is something that
we should think about when we are trying to make a decision about
how to treat others. Before we act, we should ask ourselves these
four questions: Is it the truth? Is it fair? Will it build good will and bet-
ter friendships? Will it be beneficial to all concerned? I don’t know if
Amelia knew about the Four Way Test, but she acted like she knew.
Is it the truth? A true friend is honest. Amelia showed that she was
a trustworthy friend by sticking up for me. The other girls made me
doubt that I could trust them because of their mean behavior.
It is fair? Amelia saw that the other girls were not playing fairly.
They ganged up on me and they cheated just to get me out. She was
not afraid to tell them that they were treating me unfairly.
Will it build good will and better friendships? The girls who ganged
up on me damaged our friendship. After that I could never be sure
that they were truly my friends, but Amelia showed me that she was a
good friend. She built good will, because she did what she thought
was right and not what everyone else was doing. After that our
friendship was stronger because I knew that she would always be
there for me when I needed a true friend. I have drifted apart from
many of those untrue friends, but Amelia and I are still very close.
Will it be beneficial to all concerned? I think that Amelia was benefi-
cial to everyone because she showed how good friends treat each
other. She helped me by making me feel better and by showing me
that I really did have a good friend.
The Four Way Test can sometimes be hard to follow. It means that
you have to speak up when you see people doing something wrong.
That can be very difficult to do, but Amelia did it for me and that is
why after all of these years I still remember what she did and I still
consider her my best friend.