Personal Essay: How Tenacity Has Changed My Life

544 Words2 Pages

My parents have always reinforced the importance of essential morals and principles. After living through failures and applying these principles to my life, I’ve gradually become tenacious. Tenacity is the ability to stumble, get back up, and persevere, and it’s the driving force that binds me to my goals. Through my parents’ influence and my own participation in sports, my tenacity has greatly developed. My parents’ love for me changed my life. Born in a rural town in China, they both immigrated to America in pursuit of new opportunities. Coincidentally, I was born about one month after the fateful World Trade Center tragedy on September 11, 2001. Nevertheless, they still remained upbeat in order to prevent my childhood from being disturbed. Thus, I’ve …show more content…

Of them, cross country has played the most crucial role in building my tenacity. In contrary to the general belief that cross country is primarily about beating one’s opponents, the true underlying concept is about racing against one’s self. However, runners have few opportunities to truly test their limits. Furthermore, during the season, there are only a few championship competitions, in which at least six hundred runners would race but only the top forty are awarded medals. Last year, I did not do well in the first competition, so I aimed to claim a medal before the end of the season. To reach my goal, training speed and endurance alone wouldn’t be enough, so I set up a rigorous routine to improve my overall tenacity skills as a whole including simple chores in the hopes that they would build my mental tenacity as well. Eventually, the race came. Whether the stinging sweat of doubt clouded my mind or the cramping pains of fear overwhelmed my body during the race, tenacity proved to be the adhesive force that kept my mind and body intact. After a month of strenuous routines and exercises, I ran 4th place and finally earned a

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