Common App: Overcoming Challenges

“You have power over your mind— not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.”
- Stoic philosopher, Marcus Aurelius

When I fractured my spinal cord from dancing in my sophomore year of high-school, my life took a drastic turn— for both good and bad. On top of the searing pain of my injury and splintered nerves, my mind was numbed from being constantly put on painkillers. It was like trying to think through a thick fog where everything was underwater. My mental health quickly deteriorated as I was confronted with questions such as will I ever walk again? When will I get to dance? Will things ever be back to normal? The doctor confided to my mom that my injury had very likely rendered me sterile. Growing up with a stay-at-home parent who gave up everything for her own kids, having children of my own was something I always wanted. Needless to say, I was disheartened for a long time.

Despite my avidity to continue with school, it was hard to maintain motivation and focus; especially as a part of the charter division of my high-school, where the curriculum was purposefully more rigorous. Every other day my mom had to drive for 2 hours back and forth from the hospital. On top of traffic, we'd spend about 4 hours on the road, at minimum. It was not abnormal for me to come home around 10PM, eat dinner, then start my school-work extremely late. My medical visits not only prevented me from engaging in the after-school activities that I loved, I also lost all my friends because I couldn’t afford to hang out with them. Most days, my loneliness and the blue lamp that gently glowed beside my desk were the only companions throughout the long hours of night.

This catalyzed my adoption of a growth mindset: the belief that people’s abilities are dynamic rather than fixed, which can be developed through persevering in the face of setbacks. My solitude has gifted me with time for introspection and ritualized self-care. With the combined wisdom from reading stoic philosophers and psychology’s growth mindset theory, I built up strength within my inner world in order to cope with an external circumstance that I had no control over. My injury filled me with a renewed appreciation for the things in life we often take for granted— how I’m able to cannon-ball and sprawl like a star-fish across my bed; how I’m able to put on my own clothes instead of having my mom do it for me; how my fingers are able to leap across the keyboard as I’m typing this sentence; or how I’m able to stand on my own two feet, quite literally and metaphorically. Philosophy has been the therapy for my soul, and psychology’s theories have enabled me to gracefully come out of this experience with a new approach to life. Focusing on these two passions provided a stepping stone into immense personal growth; they enabled me to cultivate a newfound positivity and inner resilience I haven’t known before. I now know how to find beauty in any situation.

I hope to continue defeating the odds, and triumphing over the obstacles pitted against me— whether that be new circumstantial hurdles, or the protest of my own body. I will rise. And I will do it with the grit that I have built after going through such a life-changing event. My mental toughness and positive, can-do attitude will get me through anything. So to life’s challenges, I say bring it on!