Describe a time in your life when you had to overcome adversity. What skill helped you the most along the way? by Adriana

Describe a time in your life when you had to overcome adversity. What skill helped you the most along the way? by Adriana - May 2022 Scholarship Essay

When I was just over a year old, my dad deployed to Iraq for a year, and what we did not know at that time was that it would be almost two years before he came home. We all have obstacles in our lives that we have overcome. How we choose to take these challenges on and grow determines the kind of person we will be. My struggles have made me stronger throughout my life and defined my personality to the point that I am thankful to have experienced them.
My character is defined by the strength of my parents throughout our family’s four deployments that stretched almost five years of our lives. During the Iraq deployment from 2005 to 2007, my Mom had to raise me, a one-year-old, and my sister, who was three at the time. My Mom’s strength as a single caretaker during several deployments has taught me courage when facing daunting tasks. I look up to my dad immensely, and his service showed me that it is important to be selfless and sacrifice your comfort to help others. My dad was deployed twice more, the second from 2011 to 2012 in Kuwait. This was the first deployment I can recall. His absence taught me the importance of perseverance and how to continue through a more challenging day-to-day life. This deployment also helped me to learn the skills of self-reliance and responsibility. Because my Mom was often stretched thin with many tasks, I was expected to help out more around the house. For example, I did more chores, worked on my homework independently, and asked questions if I needed help. With this, more maturity came! The responsibility of not making my Mom’s life more challenging was very important. This past year, my family has dealt with our fourth deployment. My dad was away from June 2020 until this summer in Iraq and Afghanistan. Although this time life was easier on my Mom, this deployment has been the most eye-opening for me. I was more aware of what was going on, and it showed me how much I have grown and been impacted by these events. I learned from this deployment that it is crucial to help out the people who support you when possible. From the outside, it is often perceived the person leaving and their absence is the most difficult part however often their return is far more challenging. About a month before my dad came home it was a warm summer afternoon. I could hear the neighbor kids playing through the windows that we had opened to let the breeze in. I was enjoying my day off reading on the couch. I had been working all summer around 39 hours a week and was busy spending time with my new friends that I felt finally got me for me. When my mom came up to me and asked if I had taken the 31st off I then proceeded to check my schedule finding that I had taken it off. She then sat down and said “Dads are coming home in less than a month and I don't even know how I feel?” she then asked me what I was feeling? I was caught off guard because I had been so focused on getting through it I hadn't thought about what it was going to be like when he came back. I responded sort of unsure speaking my thoughts as they came to my head “I'm excited for him to be home of course…” but then apprehensively “I'm nervous because now everything is going to change again” in the year apart we had found ways function and grow separately but now so soon we are going to be slammed back together. And the thought that I was unaware I was ignoring overwhelmed me to tears. My mom was feeling similarly. Having me open up to her and we talked about what we could do once he got home helped immensely with my anxiety about the unknown. This communication and emotional support helped us get through another step of this deployment and I'm glad I was able to be there for my mom.
As a military child, I have learned the vital skills of perseverance and giving it all to succeed, as well as supporting your loved ones and always being there for them to talk to or just listen to. As cliché as it sounds, the obstacles in my life made me stronger and taught me many necessary skills. These challenges shaped me to become the individual I am today and who I will become in the future.