A Lost Star by aliyah

A Lost Star by aliyah - May 2022 Scholarship Essay

There are a lot of situations that come to mind when you think of adversity. The main one that comes to mind is death. Death is part of the circle of life. To most people, it can be considered the hardest event to recover from and cope with. Although this is true it can also be one of the most inspiring strategies to happen. Allow me to tell you a story about how one girl turned her adversity into inspiration.

In 2009 on a cold Christmas eve, a 12-year-old girl named Liyah started getting her siblings and herself an overnight bag to go to grandma's house. As she walked to the bathroom she noticed her mother still was not feeling very well after a surprise 3-day stay at the hospital. She walked over to her mother just to check on her. "Mama is everything ok?" she asked concerned. "I am ok, do you have everything packed and ready to go?" she asked gently.
Later that afternoon her grandmother arrived. Liyah immediately went to inform her grandmother of what has been going on. "Nana, mama has not been eating anything and she is not sleeping either." Liyah voiced. "Oh, my goodness. Let us get her in the car and I will take care of it from here." Grandma responded. Liyah pilled everything in the car and went back inside to help her beautifully weak mother in the car. Once they arrived at her grandmother's house everyone settled in and started to get ready for bed.

The next morning on Christmas day to be exact, Liyah got up early to go check on her mother. She realized once she reached the living room her mother's condition had not gotten any better. In fact, her condition was much worse and she was getting ready for her grandfather to take mom back to the hospital. At that moment Liyah realized that she wanted to do one thing. She reached under the tree and got the one present all of her siblings and herself paid for with their own money. She crawled back over to mom and asked her to open the present they worked hard to obtain. Mom did just that and was in tears looking at the yellow and green teacups they knew she would love. "Thank you Liyah." mom said and then it was time for her to go.

That evening Liyah's grandmother received a call from the hospital informing her that mom's lungs have collapsed and she is brain dead. Grandmother instantly started crying and informed the rest of the kids about what happened. A couple of days later after the heart-wrecking funeral, Liyah was sitting in the car outside by herself. She was exhausted from all of her weepings. A thought crossed her mind while meditating on the fact that the only person in the world who had her back is now gone and she has to look after her younger brother and sister. "I have no one now. No one is going to love me the way my star did. All I have is myself." She wept quietly.

All it took was for that one statement for things to really settle in with her. The next day Liyah got up and ready for her first day at her new school. She realized in order to make the situation a little better for everyone around her, she would need to love herself. She had spent so much time numbing the pain to be strong that when it came time to allow herself to feel the pain she could not hold back. Since she did not have the support needed from her own family she carried around feelings of guilt and shame. But for her first day at a new school, she would give herself a break from grief and throw herself into the lessons. For the next couple of months, Liyah settled in school and began to make friends, which she so vitally needed in a time like this. Her friends were able to help her understand that she was not to blame for her mom's death. That in order to start healing, she would need to forgive herself for the possibilities of what she may or may not have been able to do. Liyah understood that this would take time and instead of rushing herself in turn she was patient with everything. She turned her focus on what would help her to create everlasting memories as well as heal her family. To this day, Liyah has been repeating these same steps in times of despair remembering this is what got her through losing her first Star.

to conclude this short story and essay Liyah is Aliyah and this very story is mine. I was able to conquer my adversity with death and I am still conquering parts of it today. There are some techniques to help others cope with adversity. They include the following: Allow yourself to feel the pain. Be patient it will take some time. Take care and focus on yourself. Get a good support system. Forgive yourself for everything. Give yourself a break from grief. Last but not least create memories that will honor yourself and those who you have lost. But most of all remember what you have learned from each experience and allow it to better you not bitter you.