What I Have My Life

When I think of mindfulness I contemplate of ones empathetic to interpret a situation. For two weeks every night before I went to bed, I wrote down three items I was grateful for. Some of the words were “Health”,” Family”,” Friends”,” Food”, and” Childhood”. This list goes on, what I grasped is whatever I did that day predisposed what I wrote down. On days I lifted I would appreciate my health, when I went away with my family I recognized how much I appreciated my family, when I was home for a day I realized how much I adored my bed. The new custom I obtained made me appreciate how indebted I am in my life to points I didn’t fathom before. This taught me to feel empathy for people who can’t say the same good things as me which gave me very good insight on to be grateful for the life I have.

In my school when we are in the lower secondary, some of us are given the chance to go to China for a week or so to learn more on the different ways that lessons are being taught. I dread the feeling of being uncomfortable in a foreign country and staying in the same room with people that I rarely talk to is equivalent to talking to the monsters in my head/having nightmares.

My tumultuous life has presented innumerable challenges. Adopted at age three and later diagnosed with bipolar disorder and Asperger’s syndrome, I have trouble interacting well with others. Consequently, I held numerous low paying jobs, had countless failed relationships and have suffered much loneliness. By compensating for my difficulties with hard work, and by not giving up, I have nevertheless persevered. Possibly the secret of life is simply never to give up.

When did you figure out what you wanted to be when you got older? Are you still asking yourself that question? Not only is it hard for people to figure out what they want in life, but to ask what you want to be? That is one of the hardest questions you have been asked. I figured out what my passion was at the age of thirteen. Biomedical engineer isn’t in many thirteen year olds’ vocabularies, so how did it end up in mine?

My parent’s struggles taught me to never accept defeat because there are endless possibilities for those who don’t give up. Their perseverance for a better life sparked a sense of determination in me that ignited a fuel for prosperity, and an optimism for bigger and better opportunities not only for me, but for my

In 2011, my brother was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis which affected my entire family including myself. He went through many surgeries, many of which made it quite impossible for me to see him given that I was only 11 years old, and everything on that level in that hospital was contagious. Throughout, this period in my life my mother was always busy and I learned to slowly do my things on my own. Although it sounds crucial, I didn’t expect much from my mother given that she basically lived in the hospital. I fell into depression because my brother was my best friend and I couldn’t accept that he was in so much pain. I learned to overcome depression and slowly learned that life shouldn’t be taken for granted and I should believe in myself.

My father told me when he saw me felt very sad after i back home from school. He said: “only kind of failure is to give up before success. As long as there is life.” This sentence gave me great encouragement. It helped me feel confidence in my life. When i know the job that my father got here is doing construction work. I realized even my father didn’t give up so why should I ? I started to change myself. I began to learn English , i open up communication with others and i stared to have

Life is full of challenges, everyday you won't know what kind of problem you will face next. When I was young and still learning about my life in this world, every problem and challenge were stressful to me. I know that feeling of losing hope, but instead of just letting it be, I got back up and faced my problem. It’s a great feeling to have the power to do something that I once thought was impossible. I consider myself a person who lacks determination. I used to just give up on something that was too challenging for me to accomplish or approach. But the worse feeling about giving up is not that you gave up, but It’s that you looked down on yourself and didn’t believe in your own ability. It doesn't matter if other people look down on you, but you should never

When I was younger I experienced something no mother wants to see her child endure. I was a very sickly growing up. When I reached the age of seven I was rushed to the hospital with the appearance of a burn victim only to undergo vigorous testing to see what was wrong, After endless trips in and out of the hospital I later found out that I was diagnosed with Kawasaki disease. This rare disease effects the coronary arteries of the heart. Not knowing what was happening I can still remember having doctors in training coming in to look at me and wanting to write research paper about my condition. As if i was a science experiment or a guinea pig. At this young age this event was really traumatic for me and I wasn't sure how to process it all. Before the illness I had a bubbly and outgoing personality but after I was anxious and timid. This is where my story begins. How one major event can create a pathway to the rest of my life.

Through the inspirational words of my grandfather I learned much about myself. For the past nine years of my life I have heard the words you are great and successful. Those exact words came form the mouth of my greatest hero my grandfather. With his inspirational words I applied them to three main obstacles I have faced. The first main obstacle I have faced was my fear of failure. At times it controlled me causing me to believe I was incompetent in certain aspects of life. Another obstacle was tough challenges that seemed unbearable and difficult to prevail. The last obstacle was me being my worst enemy which caused me to be a hindrance to myself. Although these obstacles were burdensome the each equipped me to be resilient. The words my grandfather spoke to me became my inspiration. I overcame my fears, defied my challenges, and became my own friend by believing in the words you are great and successful.

My eyes were on stalks as a patient said with excitement that she was diagnosed with “terminal” cancer a long time ago and still alive against her poor prognosis. While I was looking at her studies, she cried, but what really caught my attention was her blissful smile. She was looking at her family and said that she enjoyed more her life during these years. It granted me faith and optimism. Despite her cancer was recurrent every time that doctors tried to withdraw her from the biologic therapy, yet this therapy kept her tumor appeased. She knew it, but she also knew that we were there to help her on that winding road. Upon realizing the vulnerability that overcomes the ill, I have sought to relieve it. Since then, I have made it my mission to restore hope in the hopeless. This is my motivation, the exceptional possibility to change people’s lives.

Living in China presents different cultural perspective than it us in western cultural setting. This, I realised when I had my friends from college visiting me. And, it was a cultural shock for both my family as well as my friends.

I'm amazed by the clear majority of “successful” people who overcame adversity and hardship. How do we react to ours? Do we crumble like cookies under the thought of a challenge and avoid them.. or do we conquer challenges and own them? Well, I say, it's up to us. All this [stress] plays into a huge feedback loop that can determine health, happiness, and ultimately our "success". For better or for worse. Why did patients in our readings have such different personal narratives of illness from what seemed to be very similar and even in the same biomedical causes of illnesses? These questions highlight the view that there is a deeper transcending non-biomedical cause of illness, which then, effects outcomes of treatment and healing. I believe an attitude of resilience fostered through experience, plays a huge role in how people react to their illness which then affects how one responds to treatment/therapy. How is it that some people in life have suffered so much and at the end of the day, sometimes after years. not only remain intact mentally, but thrive in the world and carry on with their lives, despite their condition(s) and exposure to trauma. Against all the odds. Through personal experience and evidence presented in the readings. I will persuade you to understand why I feel humans may respond so differently; to treatment and the processes of healing. I don’t expect you to agree with everything I say, you are entitled to that. I only expect that you acknowledge that the

Modern medicine has come a long way in the last 100 years. Science seems to be leading the way in breakthroughs for many illnesses. Different cancers and terminal or chronic illnesses are being cured or in the least made manageable, allowing people to live almost normal lives with medication and monitoring by a doctor. Sometimes it is amazing to imagine that humans have come such a long way in health care. So many so-called miracles have occurred because of positivity when undergoing surgeries and treatments. Sometimes humans, no matter what the diagnosis may be, require simplistic spirituality and optimism to overcome the obstacles that is illness, but also life itself.