$5,000 FAR Scholarship Essay State Winner
Jordan Andreu of Plant City,  a 2009 graduate of Durant Senior High School. 

"How a Realtor Professional Benefits the Community"

The American Dream. Immigrants have traveled to find it, authors have written about it and people have reached it. Owning a home is an integral part of the American Dream, and something that every person hopes to one day acquire. Realtors help people achieve the American Dream.
   
By helping people to realize their dreams, Realtors also help the community. They help little kids have a place to play with their Barbie dolls or monster trucks, help moms have a kitchen to bake delicious chocolate chip cookies in and help dads have a roof to decorate with twinkling Christmas lights. Although a place to eat cookies and play with toys appears to be unimportant, it makes all the difference in the world to the little girl with scraped knees or the young boy with an ant bite. I know that having a place to call home has made my life much better. I do not have to worry about changing my address all the time, or leaving my friends and family behind. Instead, I have a room to call my own and a place to find comfort. A Realtor made this possible.

Throughout the country, people are going through hard economic times. For Sale signs and bank foreclosures can be seen on every street. More and more Americans are losing their jobs and their homes. But Realtors are combating this and trying to make life better for those who are suffering. They do their best to find a home for every distressed and scared family who needs a roof over their head. Even when business is not booming and money making opportunities are not raining down, Realtors work tirelessly and selflessly to make a difference in as many lives as possible. If they put just one more anguished family in a home of their own, they have fundamentally changed their lives.

My uncle is a Realtor, and he once told me a story that made me appreciate Realtors and all that they do. He had a family come to him who really wanted to buy a home. Both the parents worked for a local plant nursery and the father sold newspapers on the side to make extra money. They were nearly at poverty level. But still, they were searching to fulfill the American Dream. They had been trying to buy a house for a long time, and were having trouble attaining any property. Then they went to a Realtor. My uncle worked incredibly hard to find a house that they could afford. When he found one, the family was ecstatic. They had a home.

I may not know all the real estate technicalities and the complex statistics involved in the selling of homes and property. But I do know that every time I see a Realtor, I want to thank them for helping my family and others to actualize the American Dream. I want to thank them for showing me that there really is "no place like home."