How boys became brothers

http://www.rd.com/content/wealthy-couple-helps-inner-city-kids-succeed/

In other countries, there have been many cases of broken families and it is always the children who suffer the most. They do not receive the proper love and care, and might grow up mixing with bad company. Fortunately, there are also children from broken families who grow up happily and this article tells the story of how a group of boys who come from disoriented families became a part of a big, wholesome family. The two proud parents of this family are Michael and Leslie Rosen and every one of the boys confesses in this story that without those two, they would never have a proper education and life.

I chose this article because it was such a heart-warming one and when I read it, I was really happy that there was such goodness somewhere out there in the world. Almost every adult tells me of the perils and dangers lurking in the modern society, and that our world is now an “every man for himself” one. But this story seems to alleviate the harshness of our world and The Rosens had no obligation to help the boys at all, yet they did so without hesitation. I admire them for being able to bring together seven boys of different ethnic races and help them progress into life happily. The most respectful part was that they were actually happy to do so.

I feel that the other most essential thing that this article shows is the importance of relationships. In Singapore, life seems to be so fast-paced that so many people are forgetting about relationships. Work always comes first before spending quality time with our family. It is our family who support us all the time but instead we forget about them all the time. The student who would rather spend his time hanging out with friends or playing computer games than be with his family. The working person who does not find time to visit his parents. Are these not prime examples of us neglecting our families? Must we wait till we are all old and shriveled and our children do not want to spend time with us before we start regretting?

I personally am guilty of not wanting to be with my family sometimes, but somehow, reading this story has changed my views a bit. I took my family for granted but these boys in the story did not even have a proper family. It was like a dream come true when the Rosens treated them like an extended part of their family. It seems that many of us do not realise the seriousness of not having a proper family, and so we become complacent and nonchalant about our family.
In a way, I actually envy the Rosens and their extended family. They could click together so well and were so bonded as a family. Perhaps it’s because the boys understood the pains of growing up without proper love and care from a family, so they treasured this relationship so much. (503 words)