Personal Narrative: Overcoming Adversity

By the time I graduate high school, I will already have my college associate degree that I will have earned through my hard work and dedication. Even though I went through a lot at such a young age, it has shaped me in every possible way. I was exposed to a whole different language and culture, but I was able to succeed through my strong desire of success and dedication. I am thankful for every challenge that I had to go through because if it was not for them, I would not be the person I am

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.

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.

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 change within my life that helped me grow was getting a job. My first job, was as at Little Caesars as a shaker-boarder. My motivation was to help pay my family’s bills. I had to perform tricks, dance, and wave a sign on the corner of Holgate and Division. Eventually motivated I moved up the ranks from shaker-boarder, dish washer, to preparing dough, all during my last term of high school.

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.

Life in the United States for my father and I had been unkind. We lived in a really beaten up trailer home in Northeast Portland. We had no money and were on the verge of becoming homeless. Too poor to buy food from the grocery store, we survived on partially spoiled food from local food banks and the extra food I would snatch from school. Our trailer, with poor 1970’s insulation and paper thin aluminum tin exterior, was practically a refrigerator during winter.

Overcoming “The” Struggle I don’t recall having a hard time learning how to read. It was one of those things that just came easily to me for some reason. For the most part I enjoyed reading as well. The only time I didn’t enjoy reading was when I didn’t understand a certain word or a certain phrase.

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.

Having the confidence to have a real conversation with adults who have experience living through some of the challenges I am going through has helped me to succeed in tough

Lani: I was helping for someone’s project for COMM 245; I was in the video lab, in the studio. I was on campus and decided to contact everyone I knew who comes to the school. I remember I sent out a snap saying guys I think there is a shooting, be careful and then I started sending out individual texts to people making sure they were okay, like hey are you good? Stay out of an area. I didn’t know how many people were getting shot. I just knew it’s not good and that we have to be careful. At first, the campus was like we are unsure, just be careful, and then it took some time till I finally got an email that said stay on campus and were held there for about two hours, I just kept recording.

It was a taciturn gloomy morning, the year of 1862. The 12th of September. At the end of it, I might be with my family again or buried someplace underground. It was my time to go into battle as soon as I finish saying goodbye to my loved ones. The tears slid down my wife’s face and my daughters lingered into their mother’s arms to cover their dripping faces. I gave everyone one last family hug as my wife said to me “Be careful”.

“Set,” Bang! The gun goes off and I quickly shoot ahead of the rest of the field. My strides long and quick as I sprint for the track. I can’t hear anyone behind me, I must be a good 10 meters in front of everyone else. I run around the track and continue to sprint across the field back to the crowd of parents, friends, and girls soccer players who were forced to attend this last cross country meet of the season. As I continue to approach the group, my mind and body turn numb, Everyone is cheering for me, and I realize that I’ll never experience this again. I’m practically floating through the course, still no other runners are near me. That was the way it would stay, all the way through the 3.1 miles as I crossed the finish line in first place, capturing my team’s second league championship and undefeated season.

What vision do you have of yourself ten years from now? I see myself in the National

Taking my very first steps into the United States at 10 years old, I naïvely thought that becoming an immigrant only meant enduring a bumpy plane ride. I was a boy, unaware of the challenging events that would significantly impact my life. Disguised in those events though, were valuable lessons that taught me about overcoming the tides of change.