What Is The Most Significant Challenge
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?
When I was younger, my weight wasn’t even a blip on my radar. But as I grew older, my weight continued to increase at a steady rate. Finally, in 8th grade, I was overweight but disregarded it, chalking it up to my love of Italian cuisine.
Soon enough, my weight began to cause problems. I hadn’t begun menstruating and after blood tests, it was discovered that I had a hormonal imbalance. The doctor’s advice was that I needed to lose weight thus allowing the treatment to work. Initially, I was in denial and thus didn’t take the treatment seriously. I felt shy and scared around
people, even my friends, constantly being insecure about my appearance.
After two years, I was diagnosed with PCOS. Coming to terms with the diagnosis impacted every aspect of my life, making me feel alienated and stressed. As a result, my dedication towards my academics and extracurriculars declined and my grades dropped below A1. It was unprecedented but I had an inkling that it would happen. Consequently, my mental health declined, and I felt like I had no control over any aspect of my life.
My report card and grades reflected my situation and that was the shock I needed and I was determined to bring my grades up in search of that sense of achievement and pride that came from being an ideal student. We found a doctor whose treatment was effective and as a result my mental health improved which saw an uptick in my grades. This massively helped my self-esteem as I cut negativity out of my life and made new open-minded friends which made me feel more appreciated.
I’ve grown up a lot since then and understand the consequences of remaining aloof. The road till now has been difficult, filled with breakdowns and bouts of helplessness, but having this obstacle in my life has forced me to define and value myself on what I am and not what others think of me. I’ve learnt that the only obstacle in my life was me, the version 1.0.
Now, I’m version 2.0, and with college, the updates will keep rolling in.
When I was younger, my weight wasn’t even a blip on my radar. But as I grew older, my weight continued to increase at a steady rate. Finally, in 8th grade, I was overweight but disregarded it, chalking it up to my love of Italian cuisine.
Soon enough, my weight began to cause problems. I hadn’t begun menstruating and after blood tests, it was discovered that I had a hormonal imbalance. The doctor’s advice was that I needed to lose weight thus allowing the treatment to work. Initially, I was in denial and thus didn’t take the treatment seriously. I felt shy and scared around
people, even my friends, constantly being insecure about my appearance.
After two years, I was diagnosed with PCOS. Coming to terms with the diagnosis impacted every aspect of my life, making me feel alienated and stressed. As a result, my dedication towards my academics and extracurriculars declined and my grades dropped below A1. It was unprecedented but I had an inkling that it would happen. Consequently, my mental health declined, and I felt like I had no control over any aspect of my life.
My report card and grades reflected my situation and that was the shock I needed and I was determined to bring my grades up in search of that sense of achievement and pride that came from being an ideal student. We found a doctor whose treatment was effective and as a result my mental health improved which saw an uptick in my grades. This massively helped my self-esteem as I cut negativity out of my life and made new open-minded friends which made me feel more appreciated.
I’ve grown up a lot since then and understand the consequences of remaining aloof. The road till now has been difficult, filled with breakdowns and bouts of helplessness, but having this obstacle in my life has forced me to define and value myself on what I am and not what others think of me. I’ve learnt that the only obstacle in my life was me, the version 1.0.
Now, I’m version 2.0, and with college, the updates will keep rolling in.