How Adversity Changed My Life

Overcoming adversity is hard, but these people survived the toughest obstacles that life could throw at you. Adversity is something everyone goes through, but these are extraordinary cases of what people went through.This crowd of people overcame adversity in three ways, only caring about what they thought, being creative, and facing their problems.

Coming from a foreign country where english is a second language, I didn’t know how to communicate. How was I going understand the information in school? How will I create new friendships without speaking? All these questions plagued me. As I sat quietly everyday trying to avoid making a sound, hoping not to get called on to answer a question or speak out loud in the class, I was trying to make clear of what these people were saying. I realized that just sitting there and listening wouldn't help me better speak English; I had begun trying to speak english with my father so I can become more fluent. After months of dedication, I was understanding and speaking a language completely different to mine. That was by far the most difficult

my application would be incomplete without my background not due to its bleak moments but because of its triumphant conclusion. i believe it shows my initiative, tenacity, and determination to succeed even in the face of tremendous adversity. High school began during a dismal period of my life. I suffered from depression due to a combination of bullying and my father's alcoholism and abandonment of my family. i was anxious yet excited about starting highschool,i knew it could be an opportunity to improve the family and social problems that plagued me. I knew that to overcome my shortcomings i would have to devout all of my time and effort into bettering myself. My self improvement began with me starting a counseling program for the children

When I first moved to the United States of America seven years ago at the age of fourteen, life was challenging. I did not speak English and had to immediately start my first year, as a freshman, in high school. I always enjoyed challenges, which was one of the reasons I moved to the US, and decided to opt out of elementary English classes and jumped right into regular classes along with my English First Language Speaker classmates. Not only I had to learn Basic English to be able to communicate with people, I had to make sure I understood academic language used in classes such as Chemistry, Physics, History, Biology and etc. to pass them. I spent many hours studying English and doing my homework after school. Then, when I started to feel

On September 1, 2012 I moved to Virginia, United States. Many can say that, but to me it is one of the greatest things I have done in life. Being born in Puerto Rico, an island in which Spanish is the main language, the wish of learning English was constantly in my mind. As I grew up I started to take English courses in school; however, the courses were not as effective, since I only learned the basics of English. Later on after graduating from sixth grade I was enrolled in a bilingual private school. The fact that the school was mostly in English and that it was private challenged my learning even more than in a public school. Although the school was a great one, I was doing badly accademically. It wasn’t until the school year was over that I decided to move to the state of Virginia in order to begin with my journey. A journey in which I learned many things from life and because of this experience I am preapared to overcome anything that comes between me and what I want.

I lead my life according to the belief that, success is a measure of our perceived reality. In many socially oppressed communities, barriers to living a whole, productive, successful life is beyond the grasp of many. I represent a historically underrepresented population with an educational disadvantage. Firsthand, I have overcome economic, social, and health obstacles to achieve status of an undergraduate degree. Overcoming adversity unifies my experience as an ideal candidate to give a voice to socially oppressed populations in need of health and well-being opportunities. I desire to effect change on a larger scale than previous experience has allowed and to give socially oppressed communities opportunities to perceive their reality with new success.

One example of adversity that has impacted my life is when my mom was diagnosed with Lupus in 2015. Lupus is an inflammatory disease that is caused when the immune system attacks itself. My mom also has rheumatoid arthritis and chronic migraines. There are a lot of times where she can’t get out of bed because she’s so sick. However, she always makes it to all of my activities. She truly is one of the strongest and most loving people I know.

In life, humans go through a cycle of transparency, a cycle in which we cannot escape. We are trapped as if we are flies caught in a spider’s web. Life is the cruelest game ever created. It is a game with the same ending every time. The ending of this game will always be death. The question remains of why we choose to accept this unbeatable game. However, just like every game, there is one abstract concept we learn that is worth every hardship we face. That concept is love. Love is the most powerful emotion humans can feel. Love is both a freedom and a restriction in our lives. People have several ideologies that help them overcome obstacles in their lives. Uniquely, writing is my love and scapegoat to overcome adversity in my life.

1. p.138 “This large body of research shows that although traumas, crises, and tragedies come in a thousand forms, people benefit from them in three primary ways… Rising to a challenge reveals your hidden abilities, and seeing these abilities changes your self-concept... Adversity is a filter [that separates] fair-weather friends from the true; it strengthens relationships and it open’s people’s hearts to one another…Trauma changes priorities and philosophies toward the present.”

At the age of five, I spent my nights running through my house screaming "I don't like English and I will never learn it!" as loud as I possibly could in Spanish. I had just arrived to the United States and was so terrified by my new environment that I sought solace in my native tongue. My preschool teacher coaxed me out of my timidity and continually extolled the virtues of knowing several languages. Within a year, I was able to speak and read English at a sixth grade level; it was only then that I saw the value in living abroad and participating in the foreign. The ardent feelings I experienced at five years of age resurface whenever I leave my home. However, the fear that once plagued me in my immature state is continually being replaced by excitement and gratitude.

For the majority of my life I’ve lived in San Francisco, right across the street from AT&T park. I’ve seen cities and towns all across America and I consider myself to be very lucky to have grown up in a place like San Francisco. Now that I’m older I realize that I’ve been able to have unique experiences that many people elsewhere may never be able to do. For example, some sunny days I would ride my bike or skateboard to the ferry building or fisherman's wharf with my dog. I also remember going to a secret spot at the baseball park with my granddad where we could watch a game really close to the players without going in the park. Sometimes I go to Crissy Field with my mom where we can easily catch fresh crabs with a net. My point is I’m

A grieving widow and mother finds out she has cancer. She worries about her family and who will take care of them. She wonders how she will pay for her medical expenses. Above all else, she wonders how this adversity fits into her life. The word “adversity” has a negative connotation when in many circumstances adversity gives rise to experiences that can change a person’s life and character for the better. The Roman Poet Horace once said “Adversity has the effect of eliciting talents which in prosperous circumstances would have lain dormant.” His words are proven time and time again through the many challenges that life throws at a person. Different types of challenges, including physical and mental adversity, give way to amazing strength and courage and open the door to new opportunities.

Adversity is most commonly defined as a difficulty or misfortune that an individual is forced to face at some point in their life. At many different times in my life, I have been in situations where I have faced adversity: in the classroom, on the basketball court, or just among people I know. The following essay will be detailing a major moment in my life in which I was faced with a difficult time or misfortune.

Life is hard and challenging. My experiences with adversity influenced the way I approach my goals. I learned about perseverance and strategies in achieving success. I found out that to earn achievement I need to take certain steps to get there. The only way to get to achievement is to have some type of struggle and failure on the way.

In the relatively short amount of time I’ve been alive on this Earth, I’ve amassed a wealth of knowledge and, though I’m sure I still have much more to learn, have therefore come to realize many things. One fundamental truth that has become especially clear to me is this: our society thrives on separation. One has only to flip through the pages of a history book to see that humanity has a tendency to sort and compartmentalize every facet of our lives, whether it be distinctions between races, religions, sexual orientations, social status, and so on. Despite this, there will always be some things that do not discriminate - adversity being one of them; it is something that affects every living thing on this planet, whether they like it or not.