¶ … cat was a street cat who I saw going home from school. When I was about to get on the bus, I saw him and immediately he came to me. I felt touched by this cat's actions and decided to find him a home. The whole process was quite difficult because he wasn't allowed to stay in my home and I only had a limited amount of time to get him adopted. I literally had to go to school and within the school day find him a home as my neighbor was not going to allow him to stay another night and my mom didn't even want to in the first place. It took everything I had to stay patient and find a way to help Tom. I'm naturally shy with strangers, so having to talk to all my teachers, some students, and my neighbor to help me with the cat was difficult. It was the worst day ever when he pooped in the bag!

I was carrying him to school in a bag and he pooped in it. I had to walk with a poop filled cat in a bag and when I lifted him from the bag I was covered in cat poop. I don't even want to know what he ate to make that poop that day, but all my shirt was covered in it and I had to throw it away. That was one of my favorite shirts too. Overall it was the most memorable experience of my life.

I learned so much about myself and about people that day. I learned about the kindness of strangers and how to listen to my intuition. I also learned the girl who adopted him really needed a friend and found that in Tom. Overall it was one of the most impactful lessons of my life as I had to go through many hurdles and overcome many fears to ensure the happiness of Tom and the girl.

Final Draft

I remember one time back when I was twelve. I was going to school and when I was going to take the bus home I came across a sweet, little street cat. The cat was light beige with a dark face and blue eyes. I instantly liked the cat and named him Tom for tom cat. Tom was really sweet and had a gentle disposition. He was so gentle in fact that he won me over. Even though I was a kid and my mom wouldn't let me adopt a stray cat, I decided then and there I would somehow find him a home and make sure he was okay.

So I went to a nearby store, asked for a box, and put the cat inside. Tom let me pick him up, he didn't even scratch me. He was a very sweet cat. I took him in the box, hopped on the bus, took him home and promptly had to go outside. My mom hates cats and she didn't want a stray in the house. I begged her to let me keep him at least for the night and she was very reluctant. I had an emergency situation as I could not bear the thought of putting this sweet, little Tom into the street again so I called a nearby neighbor and asked if he could stay for the night.

They thankfully agreed and the cat was fed and given a place to sleep until the morning. I came bright and early making sure I thanked my neighbors and got on the bus with the cat in my bag and some food to go to school to ask any students if they want to adopt a cat. I was half way to school when the cat began meowing uncontrollably. It was so loud the bus driver kicked me out. I had to walk the rest of the way with a meowing cat.

When I got to the...

I took out the cat, and I was covered in street cat poop. The cat was covered in poop. That was why it meowed so much! I took him to the bathroom, washed him off, washed the bag, and threw away my clothes. I did my best to dry him and went to the teacher to ask for some help. She let me stay with the cat until it dried and somehow through some good grace I was able to get someone from my class to become interested in the cat.
The cat was a very sweet cat. I mean, through all this, he still was not mean or fussy or angry. Even when I washed him in the bathroom, he didn't scratch me or bite me. He was just lightly meowing. I stayed with Tom all the way until lunch time. When the girl came over, I was in the classroom, she saw the cat and saw how sweet he was. I was thrilled. She liked him right off the bat and said she would love to have him. I asked if her mom was okay with it and she said yes, she was.

I couldn't believe it. He was going to get adopted. I waited with Tom until the end of school, having been excused from most of my classes because I explained to everyone who would hear that Tom was indeed in need of a home and I was making sure he got one. So when the school day was finally over, I came over to him as he was in the bag, napping and whispered: "Hope you get a good home buddy" and petted him gently. The girl came, took the cat and a couple of days later I went to check up on him to see how he was doing. He was fine and the girl was happy.

See, she had lost a cat recently and was in need of another pet. She didn't want to replace her old cat, but when she heard about Tom and his story, and my desire to find him someone, she couldn't resist the idea of adopting him and giving him a home. To this day I remember Tom and I remember what I went through to make sure he had a home. Tom showed me that no matter what, if you feel deep in your heart that you have to do something, then you have to do it, no matter what.

In essence, the experience taught me resolve and determination. I had the tenacity and the will to keep going even when I thought I could not. It was hard dealing with the poop and meowing and the talking to strangers. I'm shy, I'm a germaphobe, and I am allergic to cats! But for some reason or another I felt I needed to help that cat. When I look back at Tom and the girl who had lost a cat and needed a new one, I thought to myself, I need to listen to my heart and follow my intuition more.

The world is filled with so many things people try to dissect and find logic in. The truth and the reality is, there is no real sense to things sometimes, at least not where the naked eye and the mind can see. Sometimes things must be felt with eyes closed in order to truly navigate through things and through life. If I had not listened my gut feeling that day, I would not have helped a young girl find a new friend. Pets may not seem like a big deal to some people, but to others they're everything. I'm glad I found a home for Tom and I'm glad a girl got a new friend.

I went through a lot that day. I won't lie, I cried. I was scared I was…