Tell us a Story

We’re All Same

It was a rainy day, when one of my students came up to me and complain about having troubles with one of my collegues. I asked her to take a walk in the garden and watch the rain fall on the ground, drink our tea and smell the air. It seemed a comforting proposition for her. She said that their Math teacher was constantly making fun of her obsessive-compulsive behaviors. She said she regretted telling him about her obsessions and now the whole class knew about her and advised her. Also, the school counselor had spoken to her and now she needed to see a psychologist. She thought that everyone would think she was crazy. I told her that I go to the doctor from time to time. She understood that it is normal to have psychological problems and it is up to us to overcome them.

Betül Demirci

When I was in eighth grade, there was always a ping-pong table in the hall outside the gym. One day, when I was going out with a friend of mine to PE, we were walking past a table that was not properly set up. My friend stopped beside him and then the table rolled over on her, squeezing her leg. I tried to lift it myself, but it was too heavy and my finger got stuck under it. We started screaming for help. The physical education teacher came running with some boys and they helped us break free. The whole situation ended when my friend had a broken leg and a  cast and I had a badly bruised finger.

Ola N /Gosia D/High School in Puszcza Marianska/Poland

A year ago I was on a bus and I saw a 3-year-old boy. He was crying so much. The bus was full to bursting with passengers. His mother was complaining about the crowd and asked me what I thought of the crowd. I wanted to answer but her son was crying very loudly so I couldn’t answer properly. While the bus was being filled with passengers, the boy’s crying was increasing. Then, I decided to chat with him to make him calmer than he was. I talked with him for 15 minutes and his crying ended. His mother thanked me and they got off the bus because the bus had arrived at their station. He was really cute and adorable

yasemin.bal/Selen Aras/Besiktas Anatolian High School/Istanbul

A few years ago, when I was with my friend on an eternal walk around the town, we noticed that a man was lying on the sidewalk, we were both very shaken, so I rushed to look for an adult, and my friend stayed there to control the condition of the victim. Fortunately, a man passed and helped us and called for an ambulance. After about 10 minutes the ambulance arrived and took the victim to the hospital.

Mikołaj B/Gosia D/High School in Puszcza Marianska/Poland

A few years ago, when a new student joined the class, the class didn’t really accept her. The reason was that she had her own style and opinion, which was not liked by everyone. I felt sorry for her and decided to talk to her. She turned out to be a very nice person and we became friends. This story shows that everyone deserves a chance.

PatrycjaD/ GosiaD/ High School in Puszcza Mariańska/ Poland

When I was throwing away a plastic bottle, I kept the cork in another box. When there were many of them, I took them to a special point. Thanks to this deed, the money for these corks was intended for charity for the sick. Such a deed was also ecological.

Natalia.Kar/Gosia D/high school in Puszcza Mariańska/Poland

A few years ago when my grandma broke her leg I was helping her. I was shopping everyday. I also helped in the preparation of dinners. In the afternoon I was walking her dog. Sometimes I was cleaning her house. Till today she is very grateful for my help.

Agnieszka/Gosia.D/High School in Puszcza Marianska/Poland

During my  time as a student in Primary School one day some lessons were canceled ,and as such I had some free time on me .I saw a younger student who seemed to be struggling with learning ,feeling particularly bored I had decided there was no harm in helping him ,and as such my 20-minute job as a voluntary tutor had began .Thankfully I was rather well-wersed in the subject ,so I could help .To be completely honest I don’t know what grade he eventually got ,but I hope that my intervention aided him somewhat .

Dawid D/Gosia.D/High School in Puszcza Mariańska/Poland

One day, when I was returning from school, I saw a dog walking. He was scared. My sister and I thought we would take him home for a meal as it was winter. After talking to my mother, we decided that if no one came forward, the dog would stay with us. 5 years have passed since this situation and the dog is still with us.

Patrycja O/Gosia D/High School in Puszcza Marianska/Poland

One day my parents and I went for a long walk in the forest. On the way, we saw a lot of plastic bottles, cans and bags that litter our planet. From then on, when we go out for a walk, we take bags to collect rubbish.

Zuzanna R/Gosia D/High School in Puszcza Mariańska/Poland

This happened when I was in secondary school. One day, after school I was going to home. In bus station there was an old woman and she was asking people te help her to go somewhere but nobody listened her. I went near her and I recognize she should take the same bus with me so we take the bus together and I helped her for her way.

alp.bal/Selen Aras/Besiktas Anatolian High School/Istanbul

2 years ago, when I was at the mall, I saw a small child who was looking around in an intense way. At first, I didn’t care much, but when I realized that the child was not with his family, I was worried too. Then I told my mother that the child might have disappeared.

We went to the boy and asked him what happened. The boy was afraid of us at first, so I told him that he didn’t need to be afraid of us, we just wanted to help him. When the boy’s anxiety went away, we talked to the mall staff about the situation and found his family together.

nisan.bal/Selen Aras/Besiktas Anatolian High School/Istanbul

There was a friend of my mine who wanted to show her voice to our music teacher so she would be able to sing in school celebrations but she wasn’t brave enough. I encouraged her and told her “I will sing first then you will take over, is that okey?” she actually said yes so we went to our music teacher and sang together. Both of us are in the school choir now!

Meltem A.T. / Betül DEMİRCİ / Özden Cengiz Anatolian High School / İstanbul, TURKEY

I broke my arm two years ago when I was in secondary school.  I didn’t go to the hospital and ı stayed at school, because my arm didn’t hurt so much. But my friend didn’t think like that. She said that my arm was broken and that she could come with me to my house if I wanted to. Because I had my bag and the things ı needed to carry and ı couldn’t carry them. I accepted my friend’s offer and after she helped me then she went to his house.

sevval.bal/Selen Aras/Besiktas Anatolian High School/Turkey

There used to be an old man in our street. This man couldn’t go outside because he had cancer. One day my dad and I went to his house. We asked him what he needed. Then we went shopping to buy what he wanted. When we came back to his house, he thanked us and he was happy. But unfortunately he died two years ago.

irem.bal.1.2/Selen Aras/Besiktas Anatolian High School/Istanbul

One day one of my friend was so depressed and down.He had some troubles about his life and he was so unhappy all the time. I realized that and decided to cheer him up.I bought some junk foods that he likes and went to his neighbourhood.I called him and told him to come down. Then we went to a park,sat down and ate all the foods and chatted.I didn’t want to bring up the things he was sad about so i decided to talk about something else,something cheerfull.I made jokes all the time cause i wanted him to laugh.In the evening i was waiting to bus to go my home and he suddenly he said ”thanks for cheering me up.i had such a nice day and forgot all the things i’m sad about.You are the best friend i’ve ever had.I’m so lucky to have you.” When i heard this i became so happy and got emotinal.We hugged and then i left.

nil ds/Nevşehir Anatolian High School/Nevşehir

there was a family that were staying in a place that near to my father’s work were not in good condition.They had no clean clothes and  food . Me and my family gave them clean clothes and food . We also bought items such as notebooks and pens for their children going to school . The family became very happy .

Zehra ds/Dilek Sivaz/ Nevşehir Anatolian High School /Nevşehir

I attended a teacher’s class with 9th grades at my school.And tell my teacher that they chose a topic in their lesson and the person who knows about the topic made a speech about that topic.I volunteered to give a talk.I gave people information and told them about the details of the cinema.I saw that one person in the class was listening to me very carefully.Immediately after I finished my talk to the class,I specifically asked the person who was listening carefully if I could have anything to do with it.This person told me about his dreams about cinema.But he said he would make his plans later,he can’t do it now.I got upset and gave a motivational speech to keep her chase her dreams.I told him he had to do the things he wanted to do right away.With this speech,I both made her happy and made myself happy.

berra.nur.ds/Dilek Sivaz/Nevşehir Anatolian High School/ Nevşehir

I’ve been taking piano lessons for a few months. While I was still in the course, I saw someone new coming. I wondered how it played and started listening to it. He was very reluctant and uninterested. I went up to him and asked why he was so indifferent. He said that he actually didn’t want to learn to play the piano and came here because of his family. Actually, I learned that his talent is painting. I told him I could talk to his family if he wanted to. Together we told his family about the situation and now he paints very well.

Elif Naz ds / Dilek Sivaz / Nevsehir Anatolian High School/ Nevşehir

I had a friend that I knew a long time ago. I was talking to her for years. She lost his interest in the lessons over time and I wanted to help her. We started studying together so that she liked the lessons. Over time, she became interested in the lessons and had a very successful education. I am very happy for her.

Göknur ds /Dilek Sivaz /Nevşehir Anatolian High School/ Nevşehir

When I was in middle school, I had an online friend whose father passed away. We were only chatting but I knew that she was sad inside about her fathers death. I asked if she needed anything, but she would always tell me she was fine even though she was overwhelmed with grief. So I decided to bought a gift about her father to made her feel better. I arranged a meeting with her and bought a bunch of picture frames and printed off pictures of her father from Facebook to have for her service. It may seem like a small thing but I saw that she felt special by that act. Sometimes it can be hard to ask for a help so when someone that knows you well just takes it upon themselves it can mean the world.

Gülnur.ds/ Dilek Sivaz/ Nevsehir Anatolian High School

One day, while I was walking around the mall, I saw a place that collects donations for animals. I said something very stupid. Then the officer there said to me that maybe you could be in the place of those animals and you might be walking on the streets hungry.
I was so embarrassed and learned to empathize that day.

behzat.ds/ Dilek Sivaz/ Nevsehir Anatolian High School

Zeynep ds / Dilek Sivaz / Nevşehir Anatolian High School / Nevşehir

When I was still in elementary school, there were two student with cognitive disorder in my class, and frankly nobody really cared about them. They weren’t doing well in school, and they had struggled with out Croatian class at the time. We had to take a test and I had helped them study for that test. They had passed the test with flying colours! 🙂

Lucija Bajić/ Mihaela Schmidt/ XI. gimnazija, Zagreb/ Croatia

When I was 13, my family and I had an accident. We were going to İstanbul for our holiday. It was going to be 2 week. But while we were on the road we had an accident. We were okay. None of us got hurt. But there was a noise outside. A dog was barking. We realised we hit it. I immediatley checked him. His leg was broken. I begged my parents to take him to the vet.  After a while he got better and we are best friends ever since.

Melih AAL- Zeki Akay- Amasya Anatolian High School- Turkey

Last year, my dad and I went fishing. I was quite excited. We stayed at the riverside for 5 hours. But we didn’t catch any fish. We were about to leave. Meanwhile, my dad told me to hold my rod strongly. I caught a fish. I was happy because I wasn’t going home with an empty bucket. We started to walk. While we were walking we saw a father and his boy. They were unhappy. My dad talked to the father.  Then we found out why they were unhappy. They were unlucky like us as they couldn’t catch any. He told my dad about his son. Boy was very upset. We were about to cry. We dad pulled me over and said ‘’I know you want to keep this fish but let’s give it to them.’’ And I agreed to give it. Boy became so happy and thanked me.

Selçuk AAL- Zeki Akay- Amasya Anatolian High School- Turkey

I was in preschool at that time. Just like every other days I came to place in the morning and started to play with my best friend. After a while our lunch time arrived. I went to bathroom to wash my hands before start eating. Then I returned to my place to eat my lunch which I brought from my home. I was about start but suddenly I saw something. One of my friends was sitting near the window. And he had nothing to eat. I got close to him and offered to eat together. At the beginning he didn’t want it. But then he agreed. And it was the most delicious lunch I’ve ever had.

Nisa AAL- Zeki Akay- Amasya Anatolian High School- Turkey

I didn’t lose any of my toys. I was keeping each and every one of them because of the memories they remind. But I decided that giving them away to children who need toys is more logical. So I went to the orphanage in my city and gave all the toys to children there. Seeing how happy they were made me feel so satisfied and pleased.

Ceylin/ Dilek Akay/ Amasya Social Studies High School

While I was walking home from school, I saw an old lady who was carrying such heavy bags that it was obvious from her face that she was struggling. I felt an urge to go and help her. I kindly asked for permission to help carrying her bags. She was willing to give them to me and I could see how relieved she was. We chatted and carried the bags together until we got her house. I went in and had a cup of tea with her. It was enjoyable.

Sezin / Dilek Akay/ Amasya Social Studies High School

I started to recommunicate with my old middleschool friends at the beginnig of this school season, we chat through apps. Then we decided to meet at some park, we did that for couple of months. One of my old friends had social anxiety, so crowded places wasnt her thing to be honest, but we decided to meet up in a cafe this time, we picked some place at least a little familiar to her. When we rallied at cafe, place was emotionally cold for a time period and i felt like things are not going really well for our forementioned friend. And i wanted to break the ices between us, as a fairly sarcastic member of the group, i did my part and things started to got better, when half hour passed it was almost perfect. In the end everyone got home happy and i think that’s all that matters.

Ali Özcan K./Derya Güvercin / Bingül Erdem Anatolian High School / Istanbul

I met a boy 2years ago in the summer.I went to the beach.There was a boy sitting by the sea and crying.I was really sad to see him like that and wanted to help him.Because I went up to the boy and said in a calm tone, are you okay?The boy looked at me in surprise.I sat and said,’You can tell me what’s upsetting you.After a while the boy started to trust me and told me what was upsetting him.He had really gone through a lot of bad things and he couldn’t tell anyone about them.I helped her as best I could when she told me.After talking to the boy for a while,he thanked me and said that this conversation really helped him.I was very happy that he felt good because of me.We are still talking to the boy now and when something happens to him,I am always support him.

sena.d.ds / Dilek Sivaz / Nevşehir Anatolian High School / Nevşehir

About ten years ago, I went shopping with my older cousin.
We got what needed to be taken and set off on the way back.
we were walking back.As we were returning, a strangely dressed man followed us and started following us.
We accelerated even faster when we realized that the man was following us.
My older cousin was leading.
The laces of my shoes that were going fast came out. While I was trying to tie it, my cousin was walking by without noticing me.
Meanwhile, the man in strange clothing came closer to us when i realized this i started crying.

Hearing my voice, my cousin ran to pick me up and we drove home quickly.
When we told my grandmother what had happened, she told us that the man in disguise had psychological problems and was following passers-by.
I was so scared that day and I could never forget that memory.

Ömer Kağan Fa/Fatma Altuner/H.Avni Incekara Science High School/Nevsehir

When I was in 7th grade i had a friend that has epilepsy. We didn’t know that she has epilepsy. We had an arguement and i got too far. She got really upset. At first i did not consider about her but then i recognised taht she was breathing heavily. I couldn’t do anything because didn’t know what to do. She was about to lose her consciousness. I ran out of control then tried to get calm and called a teacher. They laid her and did what to do. She got up and i apologised million times then we learned that she has epilepsy. We must consider before saying, doing something.

b.sancak/ Cemre Ataş Bağlan /Özden Cengiz Anatolian High School 

I have two friends who are twins. Couple of months ago they were going to seperate because their schools would be in different cities. But there was a problem. They were arguing about their clothes because they were using the same closet. With a little effort, we came up with a solution. We put all of the clothes on a place. And when their rows come, they choose a cloth one by one. Both of the twins were satisfied with their choices at the end.

ilayda.fa/Fatma ALTUNER/Nevşehir H.Avni İncekara Science High School

Last year, I found some kittens in the park. At first, I looked over for their mom but unfortunately I couldn’t find her. Then, I decided to take them to the home. They were really tiny and weak. I had some milk and food for them. Also, I cleaned them as well since they got dirty in the park while playing and protecting themselves. I found some people who could adopt some of the kittens. So, by doing so, kittens, people and me were really happy at the end. That was an unforgettable moment for me to save these little cats and make people happy.

Dilek Akay / Derya Güvercin / Bingul Erdem Anatolian High School / İstanbul