By: Allison Sitcler, Senior, Bourgade Catholic High School

In this season of giving, we pose the question: “can you be a good person if you lack compassion and generosity”? This question is exactly what I and my fellow seniors in Mr. Arnold’s British Literature class at Bourgade Catholic are trying to unravel.

Through reading pieces of literature such as Charles Dicken’s A Christmas Carol, Gift of the Magi, and Why the Chimes Ring, we are closing in on the truth regarding the intrinsic value of compassion and generosity.

The first step is to study the core meaning of compassion and generosity, next is to practice these values in our daily lives.

Through our work to discover the meaning behind compassion and generosity, my fellow seniors and I are purchasing toys to give to sick or terminally ill children at Phoenix Children’s Hospital.

The toys were valued from two dollars to one hundred dollars. Along with the toys, we include a handwritten letter to make the gift more personal.

In the end, can you be a good person if you lack compassion and generosity? It is my belief that a good person that lacks compassion and generosity, simply cannot exist. These two values feed off of each other. One cannot be generous without first being compassionate; compassion is what allows us to understand and sympathize with others in the darkest of times and in turn, motivates us to reach out in generosity. Both compassion and generosity allows us to place value on making the world, and those that live on it, a better place.

What I am taking away from this experience is a motivation to give rather than to receive, to look at the lives of others before my own, and to come to understand that a small deed can impact the lives of many.

Allison Sitcler is a senior at Bourgade Catholic High School. She is captain of the cheer team, peer counselor, president of the Active Bourgade Christians club as well as holds a school record as a pole vaulter.

More than a high school, Bourgade Catholic provides a college preparatory curriculum with robust student activities in a nurturing environment that emphasizes Catholic values. Members of The Class of 2016 were accepted to 97 different colleges and universities and earned over $10.8 million in merit scholarships. Learn more by visiting www.BourgadeCatholic.org.