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  • Subject: How Halo helped me realize my true talent and purpose. (Emotional S...
Subject: How Halo helped me realize my true talent and purpose. (Emotional S...
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Im sorry if this is in the wrong forum, I don't really know where to put it, but here is my story...

I am 17 years old, and I have only had an xbox 360 since I was 16. To start off, I had never really heard of the Halo series until I met who is now a very close friend, on my first year of highschool. This friend's name is David Hardy, and he showed me how much fun halo is. Well, when Halo 3 came out, he, of course, bought it. He invited me over to his house every weekend to play it, and we both had a ton of fun. Well, some time later, I was playing tennis with my uncle, and I broke my leg... But it wasn't a typical break. It was something called a "Tibial Spine Fracture." Now, a tibial spine fracture is, of course, in your knee, where the tibia is. Also, the ligament in your knee, when you are young, usually just stretches when you get a knee injury, while in older people, it just tears in half. What happened to me was slightly different from both cases. My knee went inwards, and the ligament stretched so far that it tore a piece of the bone off with it. Well, as you might have guessed, I had to have surgery on my knee, and there was a risk of me being paralyzed (well, 1 leg would be paralyzed) for the rest of my life. Fortunately, the surgery went well and I made a somewhat of a full recovery... After my surgery I had to have physical therapy. The first day of physical therapy, I found out that I could only bend my leg 67 degrees, while a normal leg should bend to 130 degrees easily. I also found out that my family's insurance would only cover 20 sessions of physical therapy, since it was $400 a session. On the last physical therapy session, I was only able to bend my leg about 110 degrees, and that was with someone else pushing it. Most people need atleast 120 degrees to run. Well, for the few weeks following the end of my physical therapy, I went to school and did my work, came home and did chores, then I went to sleep. I couldn't play sports anymore, I couldn't run, I couldn't jump, I couldn't even go up stairs without a large amount of struggling. It was then that I decided I was going to save up money for an Xbox 360 and Halo 3 because it was so fun and it was something you dont have to be able to run, jump, or play sports to be good at it or enjoy it. I couldn't work at most jobs, and I couldn't do much work around my house. I decided to look online for something that may be able to help me save up money. Some of you may be asking why my parents or relatives didn't get me a 360 for my birthday or christmas or whatever, and the answer is that my parents where short on money because my surgery cost $16,000 and they have also been hiring many people to do many different kinds of work on our house, which cost over $30,000. I was looking around for some kind of contest or giveaway or something like that, and I saw something that said "$250 Dollar Essay contest!" Well, I figured that I had nothing to lose, and I went to check out the site. The site was run by a lawyer named Roger Worthington, and he promoted awareness about many different types of cancer and their causes. The essay topic was "Hope and Cancer." Well, my grandpa died of lung cancer when I was only 9, and my aunt had breast cancer, and she went through all types of treatments such as Kemo, Surgery, Radiation, and she lost all her hair and a lot of energy. Well, I entered the contest and I won. (If you are interested in reading the essay, i will add it to the bottom of this post) I used that $250 dollars to buy a 360 and Halo 3, and I play Halo 3 all the time now. And I have and plan to continue entering more essay contests, and I have won a few lately, and for the past 2 years, I have donated all the money I won to charities who give christmas to kids who, without the charity's help, wouldn't have a christmas. I think, to this day, I have donated almost $1000 dollars to "Toys for Teens" and "Toys for Tots". And I will continue to donate money, and maybe someday, Halo 3 will help someone else find their true calling like it helped me.



And for those of you who would like to read the winning essay, here it is.

My name is Jordan Cortina, and I am 16 years old; when I was 9 years old, I lost someone who was very close to me. You could call this person my hero. I lost my grandpa because he had stomach and lung cancer. Because of the fact that I was 9, I didn’t understand why the doctors couldn’t help him. I prayed, but he eventually passed away and I never felt the same. I thought that anyone who had cancer, especially someone I knew, was going to fade away and leave me. Moving to a brighter subject, now I am 16 years old and I have never seen my uncle happier. He is with a wonderful woman who seems to get along with everyone, only, she has cancer. Now, as I have said, I was only 9 years old before and didn’t understand how medicine and technology worked, but now I do. My aunt has been treated and no longer has cancer, which shows that there is hope for people that have cancer. This really helped me feel better and learn to accept the fact that people are going to get cancer, but there is hope, because we can treat it. What’s more, she lost all her hair (she has to wear a wig) and she is still the bright, peppy, upright woman that she always is. This shows that there is hope for all the women and men out there who have gone through treatment and are self conscious. It shows that they are not alone and that they are always supported, even if only by the thought of someone else understanding how they feel. I guess what I’m trying to say is, there is always hope, whether that hope comes from a better understanding of something, or something inside of yourself, or someone who makes you happy, or someone who understands how you feel. Whatever the situation may be, there is always hope. Don’t let cancer beat you, you have to beat cancer.

  • 12.11.2008 4:31 PM PDT

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Posted by: T9404
Uh I'm a bit of a noob, what's an "Achronos"?

Nintenman7: Apply yourself... Seggi31: HHHHNNNNNNGGGGG

This is good and all, and I can see how it should be in the gallery because of that great essay, but I don't see how its really that Halo related... I mean, you bought a 360 and played then you won a bunch of essay contests. I mean its a great story and all, but still, what does it have to do with Halo or Bungie?

  • 12.11.2008 7:42 PM PDT
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This is how the two connect: I wanted to buy a 360 and halo 3, but I couldnt do anything to earn money, and this led me to write the essay to win the money for the 360 and halo 3, which led to me finding out I am a great writer, which led to me being able to donate money to charities because i can win essay contests, which leads to other kids being able to get their own 360 and whatever games when they otherwise couldnt, which leads to me feeling good about what i do, mobile or not, because i decided to write an essay so i could get halo 3.

  • 12.11.2008 7:53 PM PDT

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So you hyper-extended your knee?
Ouch, sorry to hear that.

But, you do make an inspirational story, and it sounds like you're doing a great thing for charity.
Much better than I can admit to, lol.
Good for you.

  • 12.11.2008 7:57 PM PDT
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I wish I hyper extended it would have been alot less painful... I like overkill-extermination hyper extended my knee. Aside from the charity stuff, what I really want is for a bungie employee to read this and acknowledge that they read it, because that is the main point, to thank bungie staff, but if they dont say anything, i can't really thank them...

  • 12.11.2008 8:01 PM PDT

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Posted by: T9404
Uh I'm a bit of a noob, what's an "Achronos"?

Nintenman7: Apply yourself... Seggi31: HHHHNNNNNNGGGGG

Private messaging is a great tool. Believe it or not, Bungie employees answer PMs, too...

  • 12.11.2008 8:26 PM PDT
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I sent it to them and they didnt respond. but i dont really need them to respond, i just wish i had someway to know that they read it.

  • 12.11.2008 8:31 PM PDT

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Posted by: T9404
Uh I'm a bit of a noob, what's an "Achronos"?

Nintenman7: Apply yourself... Seggi31: HHHHNNNNNNGGGGG

Did you send it to their gamertags or to their Bnet profiles? And which ones did you send it to?

  • 12.11.2008 8:32 PM PDT
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I sent it to their Bnet profiles, and i sent it to lukems, shishka, and achronos

  • 12.11.2008 8:34 PM PDT