A Personal Hardship That I Have Overcome;
People face difficult situations in their life at some point of time or other. Sometimes, we do not know how to deal with hardships and overwhelming situations in our life. My experiences of hardships and struggles also have made me strong and confident. The details of my transforming difficulties are provided below. On January 24, 2014, I discovered that I had been selected as a sophomore to represent my High School's track team in the New Balance Indoor High School/College Track Meet. Needless to say, I was pleased to no end with the exciting news. My exaltation was sweetened by the decision I had made earlier – to quit my competitive club soccer team. As an adolescent, I liked playing football; however, I decided to concentrate on track and field. Furthermore, I had promised to a high school coach that I would focus entirely on track and field events. Why? Because I wanted to get laurels for my school and push it to prominence. I have vivid memories of my first indoor track event at Boise State University. I was quite nervous and observed that the stands were full of spectators. I said a silent prayer and got ready to run. I was very determined to win, so I had practiced well. When I heard the gunshot, I started running and was ahead of everyone. Upon completing the first lap, I was in a comfortable position with a good lead. I was confident that I would win the race. When I was only 75 m away from the finish, I felt severe pain and was trying to limp and complete the race. Alas, the pain was unbearable, which is why I was forced to scurry off the track and fell down. I had never experienced the agony of such magnitude before. The University medics helped me to the clinic. I was informed that I had pulled my right hip and was lucky that it was not a tear. Although I was in a position to win, I had to return home without a medal. My health failed me, but I was determined to stay calm. I made up my mind to get well soon and come back. As fate would have it, I had to undergo treatment for six months. I could not participate in any track and field events during the entire sophomore year. I tried my best to keep up with the team, but I found it difficult. I had just started running since my injury. After running for some time, I began to feel the pain again. I was very disappointed that I could not run as well as the others. I could not understand what had happened to my body. Perhaps, for this reason, I broke into tears upon seeing my coach. I felt so helpless and could not grasp why I was unable to run. My mother took me to another Orthopedic Doctor. He asked me to go for an MRI. As he was concerned about my condition, he referred me to a world-renowned sports medicine surgeon at Stanford Hospital. Dr. Safe ran several exams and offered me to undergo hip surgery. On October 17, 2014, I had to undergo right hip arthroscopic capsular surgery. It was a painful experience, after which I was asked to take rest for six months. Even after my surgery, I was not willing to give up. On March 27, 2015, I ran in my first high school track meet, which was after about a year and a half. I was happy to finish the race without any pain, but I could neither break a track record nor improve my personal record. Nonetheless, I was satisfied with my accomplishment. With so many medical problems I wouldn't have been successful if I was not determined. Going through all these hardships, I learned so much in the past two years. The difficulties made me realize that we are not powerful nor are we in control of all that happens to us. If you believe in yourself with confidence and faith, you can overcome the challenges in life. According to Stephan "Many times we are our worst enemy. If we could learn to conquer ourselves, then we will have a much easier time overcoming obstacles that are in front of us." We realize our potential only when we endure hardships. We also learn to appreciate things in times of grief and learn not to take things for granted. "I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work." If he had to withdraw when he faced hardships, he wouldn't have been able to make his great inventions. Likewise, Nelson Mandela became the first democratically elected president only after hardship in his life. He had to spend 27 years in prison before he became successful. In the same vein, Abraham Lincoln had faced a nervous breakdown a political defeat before he finally became the president. Helen Keller was deaf and blind. She overcame her disability by learning to read and write. She became the first deaf and blind person to gain a bachelor's degree. Mahatma Gandhi opposed British dominion in India.
