Personal Narrative: Overcoming Adversity

From my adversity and hardship I unveiled who I am and what I am capable of. I ventured outside my comfort zone; challenging myself to start new conversations everyday and foraging friendships faster than a tempest. I also started to express my curiosity and discovered the metamorphosing world in which I live by throwing myself into the wilderness with Outdoor Ed. Most importantly, I embraced others and helped them be happy, to stop them from feeling alienated like I did. l saw that I held the power and I hoped that I could help others see the same.

“Let me tell you something you already know; the world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It’s a very mean and nasty place and I don’t care how tough you are, it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently, if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain’t about how hard ya hit. It’s bout how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward.” That inspiring quote was announced by Rocky Balboa, Actor: Sylvester Stallone, in his movie. Rocky is a perfect example of adversity, he faced it with his boxing career.

The lessons we take from failure can be fundamental to later success. Recount an incident or time when you experienced failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?

Sweating, feet shaking and heart racing. Looking around in fear not wanting to be called on. Paralyzed with fear of been asked to do simple tasks such as reading or talking. As children we all have fears, weaknesses, as well as obstacles. My biggest obstacle was not so big. Coming from a different country, every single day showing up at school not knowing anyone or knowing the language, becoming a complete stranger, an outcast. A ghost among the world, wondering without knowing a single thing about this bizarre, unfamiliar place. Homework i couldn't understand or even be able to read. Seen my parents working hard to find a place to live and not been able to help me because just as well we came from a different place, almost seemed like a

When I think of the word “adversity,” three things come to mind, the words: difficulty, challenge, and perseverance. These come to mind because adversity is definitely difficult and it is surely a challenge, but, if you persevere, you can overcome all adversity.

Lessons Learned from FailureIn the summer before my freshman year of high school, a couple of my friends and I wereout late at night inside our neighborhood. I could remember it was a cold night, for Florida atleast, and it was windy as well. We were out later than we were supposed to be, yet we were verytired and did not want to run all the way to the other side of the neighborhood. So, we asked arandom kid who drove by if he could drive us to our friend’s house and he said he could. Whilewe were on the way to the house, the kid began to drive very fast. Before we knew it, we hadcrashed into a wall that surrounded the neighborhood. The accident was a lesson given to me so Iwould be able to prevent myself and others from future failure.The hospital was very quiet and there was not much going on besides them attending toour needs.

Waking up, knowing the day was going to be the same, Elizabeth or Liz for short, was ready to go to school. Doing the same routines every day of school: waking up at 8:15, take a 10 minute shower, get dressed up, brush her teeth, do her hair, eat breakfast, walk out of her apartment, drive to school, and hang out with her friends until the bell rang at 9:15. Liz started the second semester in 11th grade, but now she has been in school for 2 months.

Muscles engaged and eye’s wide, the intensity flowing through my veins. About face on one, hands down on two, lift my leg to a needle elevating to place on her shoulder. While she swiftly pulls, a voice in my head counts five, six, seven, and on eight it snapped… and suddenly, my stomach became a sinking pit, and a wave of nausea hit.

In my three years of being here I’ve learned so much. Managing time is key. In the beginning I was pretty good at it but as I got better I’ve learned how to better my time. Really in my opinion you can’t teach someone maybe to some extent you can but not really. It has to do with experience with time management you need to fail once or twice before understanding the importance and how much it really does help. In life I’ve always had an easy time with managing my time so this wasn’t much of an issue with me. My career goals have been magnified since being here, realizing that what I want to do in life might actually be my reality. In this day and age not many people can say that. Through the Ferris classes I took here I was able to save fifteen thousand

"Louis McClymont, the nurse will see you know."As I took the dreaded walk to treatment room B, my fear of needles began to take over, the only time I ever had a jag before was when I was a baby, and that was too long ago to remember. I took a seat on the administering table; the nurse could see my body was shaking with fear. She tried to distract me from the enormous needle that was heading my way. "You're having a jag for yellow fever, where are you going?"

Changes that I have made lately include leaving my past job that I was comfortable in, changing my sleep schedule around, and working to relax more. When I first started thinking of making a career change, I was scared I would not find another staff that I enjoyed working with and a manager as sweet as mine. I was scared of change for fear of the unknown. Another change I made lately was my sleep schedule. I was tired and cranky, and not getting enough sleep. I started making a sleep schedule and sticking to going to bed earlier and waking up at a certain time each day to regulate my sleep. This has helped improve my mood and increased my energy. Lastly, I am working on ways to relax and wind down after a long day.

Overall, I am a work in progress that continues to enhance in my basic and advanced skills day by day. I believed I am getting better and I will continue to practice until I am a master piece. Honestly, I feel comfortable entering the counseling field after learning many techniques and tools that will help me grow as a counselor.

A trait that can be considered an achievement would be my ability to persevere, as a survivor. My sister, Leanne, spent a majority of her life in and out of hospitals due to a genetic anomaly. Even with knowledge of the gravity of the situation, her death came as a great shock to me. She moved back to Canada with my mother, after my parents’ divorce, so my time with her became limited. One month after my son Jacob was born I planned an introductory visit to his aunt Leanne for the first time. However, three days earlier I received the phone call to forever change my world. Eight years later I found myself fighting for my son’s life. Jacob complained of physical ailments, however, doctors deemed me a hysterical mother and dismissed them.

There is not a single person on this planet that has not been faced with adversity. When things do not go our way or we are let down, some completely shut down and give up. Others take the misfortune and learn from it, enabling themselves to rise above previous failures. Without adversity, people would never feel the phenomenal feeling of triumph. The world would be careless if everything went every one’s way. We, ourselves, are not human without adversity.

I have had my fair share of grueling experiences in my 4 years as a Boy Scout. From 50 mile bike rides to swimming in rapids, the trips have been very demanding. But in all of my experiences, very few have been as rewarding as my trip to Lassen National Park.