I haven’t always been as strong and resilient as I am now, but gymnastics changed that. Early on in life, I enrolled in Gymnastics and learned valuable life lessons. I didn’t realize these lessons would tumble into all events in my life. While I would not give my life a perfect score, just like in Gymnastics, by any means, it has been quite amazing even with my struggles. I have encountered countless obstacles that I have stumbled over, but I always land on my feet and stand tall afterwards.
When I am faced with a new challenge, I face my fears head on. I challenge myself to overcome them and end up victorious. I learned to have this determination from my biggest supporters: my family. This applies to moving across the country for University, studying abroad in Greece for an entire year, along with health issues I have recently faced. Each obstacle has made me stronger in the end and my family has been by my side through it all.
Thankfully, I have had a team of people in my life who supported me and helped me up every time I stumbled or fell. They have cheered me on, helped me become a better person, and lent a helping hand when I needed it. This team is comprised of my family and friends. While it has evolved over the years, each person who has entered my life has left their own mark. A majority of my family attends each event in my life, even if they are not blood related. My stepfather, for example, ranks high in my mind because he chose to be a part of my team even though he didn’t have to be. I have had family members and friends disappoint me in the past which has been difficult but I focus on the countless others similar to my stepfather who have stood by my side. These people, both good and bad, have formed me into the hopeful and strong young adult I am today. While I am content with the person I currently am, I have much to work on personally and professionally.
A personal hurdle I recognize I need to go over to see this growth is to be more confident in myself, and to not fully listen to the people who pass judgements towards me. In the past, I was much more self assured and confident in myself but as soon as I entered High School, that took a tumble. It is noticeable from pictures even when I didn’t care what I looked like and beamed with joy in pictures or have a goofy facial expression that would make the crowd around me smile. That changed as I became more self-aware and started using social media more. My sparkle had dwindled as my life started to flip upside down with school, competitiveness, and pressure to succeed.
Despite my family being such a large support system for me, there were some aspects out of their control when they wanted to help me. I started to feel as though I wasn’t as good as my peers and felt defeated for an extended period of time. I managed to figure out my academic struggle was due to an unknown ADHD diagnosis and other deficiencies. My parents worked with me to receive academic accommodations and they started researching ADHD to gain a better understanding of my circumstance. With their support, I found the confidence in myself to work towards what I knew I was capable of achieving. Once I learned the study tricks that were most effective for me, my academic standing placed me on the Dean’s List during my Sophomore year of college! The struggle of competitiveness and lacking self-confidence changed when I went abroad though. I made new friends, learned to enjoy my own company again, and regained my sparkle. My life had done a full flip back around for the better and my family had been my backbone throughout everything.
The scared, lost little girl who I was years ago, has evolved into a confident and excited young woman for the better. I can appreciate the criticism and critiques I receive in life and not let it hold me back. They are what have helped me grow and I will continue to level up in life by listening to them. My family and gymnastics have taught me how to appreciate constructive criticism. I am more than ready to move on to the next level in my life but, just like in gymnastics, I have to finish learning everything I can in this one before I go further. My senior year of college will bring me more obstacles, but I am now fully confident I will be able to soar above them all and land safely on the other side. This will continue to apply later down the line when I move after graduation, apply for professional jobs, meet new people to join my team, or fly away to new areas. While I still will rely on my family during hardships, I now know I am capable of independently handling any hardships that come my way. There will be a few wobbles and falls along the way in my life, but I will always stick the landing.
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