Most Significant Challenge

5. Describe the most significant challenge you have faced and the steps you have taken to overcome this challenge. How has this challenge affected your academic achievement? The greatest challenge I have faced in my life is overcoming my anxiety and panic disorder that plagued my life for several years. In eighth grade, I began to experience a high level of anxiety that stemmed from the news that my grandfather was diagnosed with stage four cancer. It hit me deeply as I constantly worried about his state of health knowing that he could pass away at any moment. Moreover, I began to have sudden anxiety attacks whenever I left the house whether it be going to the beach or attending a normal day of school. It reached the point where I was constantly
My grades started to drop and I continually secluded myself from the outside world in fear of having another anxiety attack in public. I was prescribed countless types of medication for my anxiety, but nothing seemed to work and I just felt more hopeless as a result of it. This lasted for months until my grandpa passed away in the May of 2014. His death was quite devastating to me as he was a central figure in my life and had always been there when I needed him. However, his passing showed to me that I had to face my fears and fight against the anxiety that was ruining my life up until that point. I began to force myself to go out with my family each day even if it was as little as going to the grocery store. Over time, I was able to conquer the horrible feeling that my anxiety gave me whenever I left the house and finally stopped having panic attacks by the end of my freshman year of high school. I had learned that if I set my mind on a goal, I would be able to accomplish it, which
Nearly three years ago, my grandfather was diagnosed with lung cancer. While this is not the kind of news someone would ever want to hear, especially a man who had never smoked, the doctors in the following months sought to keep my grandfather as positive as possible through these hard times. The variety of treatments that my grandfather undertook ranging from surgeries to chemotherapy depicted to me the harsh reality of the side effects that accompany cancer treatments. As time passed, the drugs which were supposed to aid my grandfather slowly worsened his conditions and in the end were not enough to stop cancer from taking his life. Each time I got to see my grandfather before he passed away, an urge to fight against this pain grew within me. A drive to make it so no one else would ever have to undergo the horrible effects that cancer treatment has on the body. My heart and eyes are set on a steadfast goal that drives my will to succeed and push myself to be the greatest version of myself. That I will one day be able to develop new treatments for cancer that largely remove the grotesque effects produced by current cancer treatments and eventually lessen a number of people suffering from it. This drive has defined me to be who I am today, thrusting myself into all