Undergraduate / Overcoming Domestic Violence - UC Transfer App [8]

Prompt: Tell us about a personal quality, talent, accomplishment, contribution or experience that is important to you. What about this quality or accomplishment makes you proud and how does it relate to the person you are?

A young woman in her early twenties sits in a dark hospital room, pulled in a myriad of different directions by the discordance of her thoughts. She feels a dull throbbing sensation from the incision sliced across her abdomen. Glancing over at the miniature person sleeping beside her, she cannot help but affix the violent process of his birth to the violence she already endured for so long.

It was a particularly brutal attack she experienced on the night that led to the arrest and present incarceration of her son's father and a pertinent culmination of their ten years together. The young woman sat all night reflecting on the past, confronting her various internal antagonists, and worrying about the uncertainty ahead. But that night, as she carefully admired her son enjoying the dreams entitled exclusively to the innocent, she recovered something that had seemingly been lost during the past decade - hope.

The birth of my son compelled me to change my life in a drastic way. In the two years that followed, I exploited the full range of my innate attributes as well as developed new skills in order to work through the most difficult challenges I had ever faced. Along the way I rediscovered the joy and beauty of this world that had been viciously snatched away from my life. And most important, I realized the quality of which I am most proud to possess: an innate ability to prevail.

The cards were swiftly stacked against me. I was diagnosed with severe depression and post traumatic stress disorder, but opted out of prescription medication because I was my son's sole caretaker and provider. Instead, I relied on resourcefulness to find an alternative method of treatment. I found it in a local bi-weekly support group for women. Here I had the privilege of meeting extraordinary women of all backgrounds who rose above a plight similar to mine. Although I gained invaluable insight within the actual discussions and interactions of the group, I learned the most about myself by contemplating the mere reason of my attendance. I went to the meetings because I refused to succumb to the psychological aftermath of abuse. I refused to give up on myself, which put into action the silent words of my intuition - you must prevail.

One year later, I felt ready to start another venture to pursue my ultimate dream of finishing school. I was a single mother and working full-time, but I was determined to succeed. It was this sheer determination that enabled me to wake up at five o'clock every morning, drop off my son to daycare, and attend an early class before heading off to work. Many of those days ended in exhausted tears and temptation to surrender to a less arduous lifestyle, but the prevailing force within me eradicated the very notion of failure. When the grades were released, I knew I had passed a formidable test of perseverance. I felt beyond empowered. I felt unstoppable.

Another year has passed and I find myself citing this personal odyssey with the hope that it will give a clear picture of who I am. I am a survivor. I am a mother. I am an individual who never gave up and never will. Above all of these things I am living, breathing, thriving, and unrelenting confirmation of the famous words spoken by William Faulkner: "I believe man will not merely endure; he will prevail."