prompt: Describe a circumstance, obstacle or conflict in your life, and the skills and resources you used to resolve it. Did it change you? If so, how?
Two years ago, in June of 2011, an unexpected event changed the course of my life. It's almost fascinating how a simple knock on the door can have the biggest impact on a person. Up to this day, I can still visualize every single thing that played out that afternoon.
I had arrived home from summer school at around 11:30 in the morning. My grandma was cooking lunch, my brother was watching T.V in his room, and my mom was doing her hair in the bathroom. It seemed like another typical summer day. Nevertheless, a few minutes after I got home, there was a quiet knock on the door. Before anyone in my family could even check who it was, 5 men barged into our house. I helplessly witnessed how each one of them terrorized my family. For more than half an hour, they tortured us and asked for more money. After they packed with them everything we had, they ran out of the house and drove off. My mom was left unconscious on the floor, beaten half to death with her face unrecognizable. My brother, my grandparents, and I had gotten away with just a few bruises. I ran outside to our neighbor and asked her to call for help. Soon after, an ambulance arrived and the paramedics took my mom to the hospital. The rest of us were driven to the police station to give our statements. It was a long and lengthy process, and all I could do was wonder if my mom was going to be okay.
After 3 hours of waiting, my mom was driven to the police station. Her face was purple and swollen from all the beatings, but the doctors had told her she was going to be back to normal in a couple of weeks. I was so thankful that my family and I had made it out alive, but I was left with an open wound in my heart that would take a lot of time to heal.
As time passed, I grew more and more confused. I couldn't help but wonder why my family and I had to go through that. I kept looking for answers but nothing really satisfied my curiosity. I tried looking for comfort in my friends and family, and even though they tried to make me feel better, my biggest question still remained unanswered.
It wasn't until one late afternoon, a few months after the assault, that I had an epiphany. I was going through my old journals, and I came across a quote I had written down. It hadn't meant much to me at the time, but there was something about it that had made me want to remember it. It was a quote by Walter Anderson that read, "Bad things do happen; how I respond to them defines my character and the quality of my life. I can choose to sit in perpetual sadness, immobilized by the gravity of my loss, or I can choose to rise from the pain and treasure the most precious gift I have - life itself."
I suddenly understood every word of this figure. I realized that even though what I had gone through was, indeed, a horrible experience, I could choose to gain something positive from it. So, I began to look at things from a different perspective.
As soon as I did, I learned to let go of the past. I learned to stop burying myself in the painful memories, and instead begin to appreciate what I was left with - my family. I learned to stop taking what I have for granted. I opened my eyes and began to appreciate even the smallest details in life, and I came to understand that sometimes these are the most significant.
Through it all, I feel like I have grown as a person. My mentality is not as oblivious as it used to be. I know understand that life will be challenging sometimes, and I feel like I have developed the courage and skills to face the obstacles in my way.
Two years ago, in June of 2011, an unexpected event changed the course of my life. It's almost fascinating how a simple knock on the door can have the biggest impact on a person. Up to this day, I can still visualize every single thing that played out that afternoon.
I had arrived home from summer school at around 11:30 in the morning. My grandma was cooking lunch, my brother was watching T.V in his room, and my mom was doing her hair in the bathroom. It seemed like another typical summer day. Nevertheless, a few minutes after I got home, there was a quiet knock on the door. Before anyone in my family could even check who it was, 5 men barged into our house. I helplessly witnessed how each one of them terrorized my family. For more than half an hour, they tortured us and asked for more money. After they packed with them everything we had, they ran out of the house and drove off. My mom was left unconscious on the floor, beaten half to death with her face unrecognizable. My brother, my grandparents, and I had gotten away with just a few bruises. I ran outside to our neighbor and asked her to call for help. Soon after, an ambulance arrived and the paramedics took my mom to the hospital. The rest of us were driven to the police station to give our statements. It was a long and lengthy process, and all I could do was wonder if my mom was going to be okay.
After 3 hours of waiting, my mom was driven to the police station. Her face was purple and swollen from all the beatings, but the doctors had told her she was going to be back to normal in a couple of weeks. I was so thankful that my family and I had made it out alive, but I was left with an open wound in my heart that would take a lot of time to heal.
As time passed, I grew more and more confused. I couldn't help but wonder why my family and I had to go through that. I kept looking for answers but nothing really satisfied my curiosity. I tried looking for comfort in my friends and family, and even though they tried to make me feel better, my biggest question still remained unanswered.
It wasn't until one late afternoon, a few months after the assault, that I had an epiphany. I was going through my old journals, and I came across a quote I had written down. It hadn't meant much to me at the time, but there was something about it that had made me want to remember it. It was a quote by Walter Anderson that read, "Bad things do happen; how I respond to them defines my character and the quality of my life. I can choose to sit in perpetual sadness, immobilized by the gravity of my loss, or I can choose to rise from the pain and treasure the most precious gift I have - life itself."
I suddenly understood every word of this figure. I realized that even though what I had gone through was, indeed, a horrible experience, I could choose to gain something positive from it. So, I began to look at things from a different perspective.
As soon as I did, I learned to let go of the past. I learned to stop burying myself in the painful memories, and instead begin to appreciate what I was left with - my family. I learned to stop taking what I have for granted. I opened my eyes and began to appreciate even the smallest details in life, and I came to understand that sometimes these are the most significant.
Through it all, I feel like I have grown as a person. My mentality is not as oblivious as it used to be. I know understand that life will be challenging sometimes, and I feel like I have developed the courage and skills to face the obstacles in my way.
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