My Experience With Adversity Essay

I almost failed the first grade. With Arabic as my first language, the only English I was exposed to was from television shows and movies. The teachers at my school passed me along from class to class because they all felt they were incapable of handling a student learning english as a second language. I ended up with a teacher that would, in the long-run, make me the student and person that I am today. She instilled the ideas of perseverance and excellence in me and, as a result, I have hurdled past adversity ever since. Instead of isolating myself because of my cultural differences and language barriers, I urged myself to form relationships with individuals I had nothing in common with. I wanted to interact with people of all backgrounds to understand their ideas and learn from them. Similarly, instead of shying away from challenges, I faced them. This is most likely what drew me towards math and science. Where others quit because things got difficult, my interest only peaked. Seven years later, in the eighth grade, my three year old cousin nearly drowned on my watch. The moment I found him, blue and unconscious, at the bottom of the pool, it was as if all the life had been drained from me as well. The only other moment I remember was the split-second

Without difficulties and struggle in life, when does one learn to excel and rise? I was once uprooted from my close Arab community in Ohio and then placed in a small city in Mississippi. Small cities in Mississippi usually do not see much diversity, but there I was. That did not stop me from improving my education and making friends; if anything, it has only improved my communication skills and given me the aspirations I have today. Without adversity in life, I would not be who I am nor would I have the goals that I have. The fear and uncertainty I have faced in my life have taught me to be strong and continue to