Personal Narrative: Overcoming Adversity

Growing up in Indonesia, it was very tough because my parents did not have great jobs and couldn’t provide food to the table every day but they worked and tried their hardest. Everyone in Indonesia dreams of coming to America because it is the land of opportunities, however, coming to America is not an easy process. In Indonesia, there wasn’t a public school system so the only form of education was through private school, which was highly inaccessible to many due to the high costs. Luckily, I received the opportunity to come to the United States and I never took that for granted because I saw how bad conditions can really be in less fortunate countries. I arrived to the states when I was 5 and enrolled in elementary school.

I’m laying on the ground my ears are ringing as I slowly get to my feet I notice a sharp pain in my left arm.   This whole idea was put in my head about a month before. Recently,  at 5:30 I am sitting under a pavilion listening to the rock and roll music blasting in the background while eating a bagel I 'm not saying much I am looking back at the my first year of riding and wonder how i got to wear i am today, awaiting the start of my first 100 mile mtb race, i recognize how breaking my arm was instrumental to my success as a mountain biker.

One being, learning how to manage my time. There were weeks where we would have school all day, then practice till five, then a basketball game at six. It was extremely hard to study, cheer, work, and somehow have a social life. These situations helped me plan ahead to when I was going to finish homework or study for my upcoming tests. I will use this useful skill in college next year where i'll find myself always looking for time that I don't have.

I chose Abraham Lincolns quote “Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.” I agree with this statement 100 percent because any person can fight back from something, but once you give them the chance to do something that’s how you really find out the truth about that person. I have had an experience like this in my life when I was playing football I began the year as a receiver. The starting quarterback got hurt; so our coaches needed someone else to play quarterback. When I was in middle school, I played quarterback, so I told my coaches I could do it.

Horace, the Roman Poet, mentions that rough times can truly bring out the best in people. He has a point, but I truly believe that a person can be good hearted and thoughtful throughout any situation. An example of adversity eliciting great treats in someone would be my mom. Growing up as a little girl, my moms family was very poor.

There is always times in life when people face obstacles and while it may be easier to give up, giving up is not the answer. Awhile ago I faced a big obstacle in my life when I moved from California my home state and where I had lived my whole life to Texas, and while I wanted to give up and move back I had to overcome my own selfishness and see how good the move was for my family. This move affected me because I really did not want to move and I felt it was unfair for me to be moved away from all of my friends and everything that I had ever known. A year and a half ago, my life changed forever when my parents announced that my family would be moving from California and the house my family had lived in almost my whole life to

When my mom and sister came from Colombia, it was initially a struggle. They lived with my grandmother who was frequently abusive to her. Coming from a foreign country and not knowing your way around in the United States was a difficult journey, but she had my dad at the time.

When disadvantages occur, it feels bad and upsetting. But at that moment it is best to keep an open mind to try to think positive and overcome the challenges that occur. It might be difficult to think positive when you have a disadvantage, but thinking positive is one of the best ways to overcome the obstacle. Sharing an example would be the time our soccer team made it into the finals. Only ten minutes were left into the game was over.

“You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself,’ I lived through this horror, I can take the next thing that comes along’- (Eleanor Roosevelt). Courage is a character trait everyone has deep inside of them whether they show it or not. Courage is being brave enough to do a certain task even if you are scared to do that said task. We gain courage by taking a step out of our bubble and experiencing new things that can lead us to learning new things about ourselves also.

My five themes are, Restorative, Relator, Positivity, Ideation and Arranger. 1. Restorative- I love to solve problems. I enjoy the challenge of analyzing the symptoms. 2.

I feel that my particular experiences and passion will add strength and diversity to the USF medical class. Growing up from a lower socio-economic status has exposed me to a certain lifestyle in which one must be flexible and resilient in order to survive. In order to traverse the hardship, one must develop inner strength at a younger age. Those experiences has shaped my perspective on the outcome of hard work and opportunity. I am a firm believer of the saying, "What don 't kill you, makes you stronger".

Overcoming an Obstacle As I begin to think about my life, I start to reminisce on the most darkest times I went through. This point in time is when I gave birth to my baby boy, which I begin to suffer from postpartum depression. At that moment I knew I needed to seek help, whether it was physically or spiritually. Even though I never thought I would make it out, it has been almost three years since I overcame this obstacle.

Moving Strong through Adversities I wonder if many teenagers go through the same kind of insecurities, vulnerabilities, and anxieties as I did. I am the type of girl who keeps to herself, answers only when being spoken to, and goes unnoticeable in large crowds. I was never associated with being good at emotional literacy. Being able to share my feelings would have helped me grow so much; if only I was brave enough to be the first to say hello, to forge friendships, and to discuss personal issues with friends.

Everyone has their own strengths and weakness. According to the StrengthsQuest survey I have five great strengths (Clifton, Anderson, & Schreiner, 2006). These strengths for me are Context, Deliberative, Competition, Futuristic and Input. It was very surprising to see how the descriptions was on point. This paper will discuss how the five strengths contribute to my life past, present and future.

Think of a time when life was rough and you were facing adversity, many people would become depressed and just allow it to happen or give up while others remain optimistic. By being optimistic, you have faith in yourself and your future. When I was six years old, I was riding a bike with training wheels. All of my friends are riding around on two wheels having fun; I felt left out. Coming home from school everyday, I would beg my mom for a two wheeler.