It is the summer before my freshman year of high school and my friends and I are swimming at my neighbor Joey’s house. We swim in his Nana’s pool almost every day of the long California summer as the water provides our only relief from the heat. I am balanced on the end of the diving board, and am watching the water below for my opening. As my feet leave the board I have no time to prepare for the shock of the cold water below. The noise of the kids splashing in the shallow end, and the squawking of the parrot from next door immediately disappears as my body plunges into the blue abyss. The warmth from the sun and the heat on my skin are snatched from my body by the cool water. The sound beneath the water is not entirely silent as my ears begin to hum with pressure from the weight of water and the depth of the pool. I can move my limbs and feel weightless even as I sink towards the bottom. My body is forced to the bottom by my jump from the board. I continue to move in the direction of the drain even after the water has absorbed my fall. I know that in just a matter of moments I will begin to float to the top. I know this because I am almost fourteen, and as all teenagers, I know most things. I also know this from pure experience. I have jumped into this pool for the past six summers and I know that my body must first sink before I begin to float.
“Archimedes’ principle is the law of buoyancy. It states that ‘any body partially or completely submerged in a fluid is buoyed up by a force equal to the weight of the fluid displaced by the body.’ The weight of an object acts downward, and the buoyant force provided by the displaced fluid acts upward. If these two forces are equal, the object floats. Density is defined as weight per volume. If the density of an object exceeds the density of water, the object will sink.” www.onr.navy.mil I am unfamiliar with Archimedes’ principle at this point. All I know is that my body must first sink before I can float. I also know that a rock thrown into the pool will sink to the bottom. I do not understand the exact physics behind this principle, but I do know that it is true.
I am no longer fourteen, and I can no longer spend my summer days swimming in my friend’s pool. I am still not completely familiar with Archimedes’ principle, but I understand the basics of it. I do still know that when I jump into a body of water I will first sink before I float. I know that if I relax in the water I will begin to float to the surface. There are laws at work in the universe that I cannot see with my eyes or fully understand, but I know they are true. I also know there are rules that work as well, even if they are not proven laws such as:
“What comes around goes around.”
“You get what you give.”
“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”
I cannot prove these “laws” in any scientific fashion, but I know they are true. They have proven to be true in my own life.
A Family For Every Child was founded on the principle that all children deserve a permanent family. All children deserve to be loved. It is the reason we fight. The battle can feel overwhelming and can be exhausting, but the mission is necessary. Could the fight for one child be the beginning wave of a revolution? Even when it feels like we may be sinking under the weight of the challenge, could it be that we are going to soon begin the rise to the surface?
We believe one person can change the world.
Can one agency make a difference?
We believe one agency may just ignite a revolution.
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