Lauren Bowles, a senior at Bainbridge High School and daughter of Charles and Kim Bowles, recently earned the second runner-up designation in the Georgia Laws of Life Essay Contest.

Bowles’ essay was among 1,147 submitted from Bainbridge High School and 44,000 submitted from 45 schools across Georgia.

The contest is for ninth- through 12th-grade students to choose a “law of life” and relate how personal experiences relate to the moral of the adage.

Sir John Templeton created the framework and idea for this contest in 1987, and the Rotary Club of Georgia and, locally, the Bainbridge Rotary Club have sponsored the Georgia Laws of Life Essay Contest since 2002.

Tuesday at the regularly scheduled lunch meeting, the four class winners presented their essays to the Bainbridge Rotary Club membership. Introducing each of the four local winners was Jeanine Halada, an English teacher at BHS and chairperson of the Laws of Life Essay project.

“The contest is special because the program emphasizes reflection and writing,” said Halada. “It encourages students to think about the people and experiences that have helped to shape their values. It challenges them to stand up for what they believe.”

Bowles’ awarding-winning essay centered on a quote from Mark Twain, “Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear—not absence of fear.” The character trait discussed in the essay was courage. Bowles essay described her battle with Hodgkins Lymphoma cancer and how she faced that battle with courage.

The ninth-grade winner is Noah Thorn, son of Jim and Amy Thorn. Noah’s maxim was “Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re going to get,” and the character trait resulting from that maxim described in his essay was perseverance.

Deja Manning, daughter of Erroll and Rhonda Manning, was chosen as the 10th-grade winner with her essay titled “What Life Can Do For You.” Manning’s maxim was “When you find peace within yourself, you become the kind of person who can live at peace.” Acceptance was the character trait Manning wrote about relative to the maxim.

“You can do whatever you want, but remember, it is also you that has to face the consequences of what you have done,” was the maxim chosen by the 11th-grade winner Brendan Gillis, son of Angie Fausett. The character trait connected with that maxim was responsibility.

Read Lauren Bowles’ Essay

Read Deja Manning’s Essay

Read Noah Thorn’s Essay

Read Brendan Gillis’ Essay