Radiant Stars: What do kids want to see in the future?
“God has crowned you with honor and in your hearts has He set a radiant star; verily the light thereof shall brighten the whole world!”
— ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
Want to know more about the Radiant Stars in our “Transforming Our Spirits” issue? We often need to edit their answers due to space limitations in the print magazine. Here’s what they had to say about change and their wishes for the future!
Lillian G.
Age: 13
I live in: West Virginia, U.S.
I want to be: Professional soccer player/soccer coach
This career interests me because: I love playing and coaching soccer.
Virtues I admire most: Kindness and humor
Hobbies or sports: Soccer
Favorite Bahá’í activity: Junior youth group
Favorite animal or pet: Dogs
Places I’d love to visit: Greece and Rome
A favorite book: My favorite book series is Harry Potter.
A favorite food: Pizza and pasta
A hero or role model: [U.S. pro soccer player] Alex Morgan
I like to help people by: Cheering them up and trying to make them smile
What helps me with challenges: Listening to music or talking with people for guidance.
To make the world a kinder place, I’d: Work toward ending hunger in the world
A big change I experienced: Making new friends in middle school when I started 6th grade. I was nervous about going to a bigger school, but I started talking to people in class and made a bunch of new friends. It changed the social aspect of my life - it made me less shy and more confident.
If I could visit the future, I’d like to see: If humans are living on other planets
Nature teaches us: Nature adapts to change. It might be difficult, but humans can learn to adapt as well. For example, during COVID-19 we learned to use masks and tried to find a cure.
Roman W.
Age: 12
I live in: Oregon, U.S.
I want to be: An environmentalist
This career interests me because: I want to save our Earth
Virtue I admire most: Truthfulness
Hobbies or sports: I like to play the drums
Favorite Bahá’í activity: Devotions
Favorite animal: Hippopotamus
Place I’d love to visit: Italy
A favorite book: The Harry Potter series
A favorite food: Pizza
A hero or role model: My amazing parents
I like to help people by: Asking them if I can render them any service
What helps me with challenges: Take deep breaths
A big change I experienced: I went to Bahá’í camp, and it changed how I saw the Bahá’í Faith
To make the world a kinder place, I’d: I would spread love throughout the world
If I could visit the future, I’d like to see: How technology has changed
Nature teaches us: We should learn from change and not be afraid of it.
Jasmine A.
Age: 12
I live in: California, U.S.
I want to be: Medical doctor
This career interests me because: I want to help people by curing their sickness.
Virtues I admire most: Honesty and kindness
Hobbies or sports: My favorite hobby is drawing.
Favorite Bahá’í activity: Junior youth group
Favorite animal or pet: Cockatiel
Place I’d love to visit: Paris, France
A favorite food: Salmon
A hero or role model: [singer/rapper] Jennie Kim
I like to help people by: Teaching them virtues
What helps me with challenges: My mom and friends
A big change I experienced: One time I got scammed on the internet and I learned to never trust random strangers on the internet.
To make the world a kinder place, I’d: I would be very kind to people.
If I could visit the future, I’d like to see: World peace
Nature teaches us: That change can happen any time. We should accept the change and prepare and react when that happens, like ants gather food for the winter.
Arman Y.
Age: 11
I live in: Western Australia
I want to be: Doctor
This career interests me because: I want to help people
Virtue I admire most: Loyalty
Hobbies or sports: Soccer, basketball, drawing
Favorite Bahá’í activity: Youth camps
Favorite animal or pet: Dog
Place I’d love to visit: London, England
A favorite book: Famous Five series [by Enid Blyton]
A favorite food: Pizza
A hero or role model: My parents
I like to help people by: Listening and trying to help solve their problem
What helps me with challenges: My parents
A big change I experienced: I am a school captain at my school and I have the responsibility for running assemblies. When my committee didn't help me set up assembly, I didn't give up and got help from my friends who were not in the committee and got the job done.
To make the world a kinder place, I’d: Spread love and unity
If I could visit the future, I’d like to see: No more wars
Nature teaches us: To not give up. If a tree or plants die, they will grow again in the next season.
Abbie K.
Age: 11
I live in: Florida, U.S.
I want to be: A baker
This career interests me because: I love art and enjoy baking, so this would give me the opportunity to be artistic and creative.
Virtue I admire most: Loyalty
Hobbies or sports: Art, reading, writing, baking/cooking, volleyball, and tennis
Favorite Bahá’í activity: Morals class that my grandma teaches
Favorite animal or pet: Horse
Place I’d love to visit: India
A favorite book: Harry Potter series
A favorite food: Butter chicken
A hero or role model: My older brother, Sean
I like to help people by: Being there for them when they are sad and need someone to talk to
What helps me with challenges: My mother
A big change I experienced: I experienced a big change in my life last year when I had to complete my entire 5th grade as a remote student. What I learned from it was to be accommodating, flexible, and use technology.
To make the world a kinder place, I’d: Take opportunities that I get with friends and children who I meet to bring awareness of how similar we all are even though we are all so different.
If I could visit the future, I’d like to see: What I would become in life, the family I would have and know how my present family is doing.
Nature teaches us: We can learn to adapt in different environments.
Alex M.
Age: 11
I live in: Washington, U.S.
I want to be: A game designer
This career interests me because: I have always loved games.
Virtue I admire most: Kindness
Hobbies or sports: Biking
Favorite Bahá’í activity: Children’s classes
Favorite animal or pet: My cat, Luna
Place I’d love to visit: Silverwood theme park
A favorite song: “Thunder,” by Imagine Dragons
A favorite food: Sushi
A hero or role model: My parents
I like to help people by: Helping with whatever they are trying to do, for as long as it takes.
What helps me with challenges: I push myself forward.
A big change I experienced: When we moved to a different town and school. I learned that sometimes change is a good thing, even when it might seem scary.
To make the world a kinder place, I’d: Make it so people could only say loving things about each other.
If I could visit the future, I’d like to see: If the world had fixed the environmental crises. Also, see how my friends and family are doing.
Nature teaches us: Learn how to adapt and survive.
Maya S.
Age: 9;
I live in: Virginia, U.S.
I want to be: An actor and/or work in marketing
This career interests me because: I love to be on the stage and I love to create and come up with ways to advertise a product.
Virtue I admire most: Kindness
Hobbies or sports: Coloring and playing the piano
Favorite Bahá’í activity: Children’s classes
Favorite animal or pet: Dogs (although I don’t have one)
Places I’d love to visit: Paris, Australia, and Africa
A favorite book: Diary of a Wimpy Kid
A favorite food: Sushi
A hero or role model: My mom and dad
I like to help people by: Caring for people’s feelings and making sure that their feelings are not hurt
What helps me with challenges: Music calms me down
A big change I experienced: One time, I lied to my parents. The pain in my heart was so big that I learned never to lie again. It is not worth it.
To make the world a kinder place, I’d: I would fight for equal rights for all.
If I could visit the future, I’d like to see: Peace and unity
Nature teaches us: That change is good and there is nothing to be scared of
Lua L.
Age: 9
I live in: Illinois, U.S.
I want to be: I want to be a doctor when I grow up or a gymnast.
This career interests me because: I’m interested in how the body works and helping people. I’ve always been interested in learning how to move my body in different ways.
Virtue I admire most: Probably truthfulness, because if I know they are truthful then I know they are trustworthy and when I ask them a question they will honestly answer it.
Hobbies or sports: I play the violin and take gymnastics, but I would say my hobby is making slime.
Favorite Bahá’í activities: Going to gatherings with my family or going to children’s classes. I love the stories, the drama, and singing prayers.
Favorite animal or pet: I love ALL animals so this one is hard to choose. I particularly like snakes, the feeling of their scales is cool and they freak out my mom.
Place I’d love to visit: A Pacific island like Guam. Our friend Martha lives there and she said they have blue starfish.
A favorite book: The whole Aru Shah series [by Roshani Chokshi]
A favorite food: A Persian dish called Karafs, which is celery and beef stew.
A hero or role model: My Grandma Shoori, because she lived through some hard times in Iran as a Bahá’í and I want to know how she did that.
I like to help people by: I like to help my aunt and uncle by watching their kids when they are tired. Playing with kids is fun and it makes me feel responsible.
What helps me with challenges: My mom and my dad; they comfort me and give me ways to get through the challenge.
A big change I experienced: There was a big change in my life when my little sister was born. I learned how to be older and help those smaller than me. I learned to be generous as I shared many things with her.
To make the world a kinder place, I’d: First I would take a step by trying to help people not buy or use guns, or machines that hurt people.
If I could visit the future, I’d like to see: I would like to see if we got control of global warming and how humanity is living together as one.
Nature teaches us: We can learn to adapt to the change and live with it like it was normal.
Layli C.
Age: 9
I live in: British Columbia, Canada
I want to be: A dance teacher
This career interests me because: I love dancing.
Virtue I admire most: Patience
Hobbies or sports: I do dance and sometimes swimming.
Favorite Bahá’í activities: Summer camp and children’s classes. I also have a YouTube channel called Bridging Beliefs Buddies.*
Favorite animal or pet: Wolf
Place I’d love to visit: London
A favorite book: My favourite book series is the Percy Jackson series.
A favorite food: Cheeseburgers
A hero or role model: My mom
I like to help people by: Comforting, supporting, and encouraging them
What helps me with challenges: Thinking of the happiness I will have once I’ve achieved [my goal].
A big change I experienced: When I moved… I realized that changes can be good.
To make the world a kinder place, I’d: Make people understand each other.
If I could visit the future, I’d like to see: How the world has improved
Nature teaches us: Not to fiddle and try to change things, but to see how life unravels.
Ariana A.
Age: 8
I live in: Washington, U.S.
I want to be: Lawyer
This career interests me because: [I want] to help innocent people.
Virtue I admire most:Loyalty
Hobbies or sports: Gymnastics
Favorite Bahá’í activities: Ayyám-i-Há**
Favorite animal or pet: My dog, Raven
Place I’d love to visit: Paris
A favorite book: Percy Jackson and the Olympians [by Rick Riordan]
A favorite food: Pizza
A hero or role model: [Gymnast] Simone Biles
I like to help people by: Donating to those in need
What helps me with challenges: My family
A big change I experienced: When COVID-19 started, I couldn't see a lot of my friends, so I realized how important they are to me.
To make the world a kinder place, I’d: Teach little kids how to make the world a kinder place
If I could visit the future, I’d like to see: How my family has changed.
*www.youtube.com/channel/UCwfbdhp2MxOWS3CrEf7Lsbw
**Ayyám-i-Há is a festival of hospitality, gift giving, and preparing for the Bahá’í Fast.
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