Overcoming a Challenging Situation by Breana

Overcoming a Challenging Situation by Breana - April 2019 Scholarship Essay

Breana McCaughey
Varsity Tutors Scholarship
April 15, 2019

Overcoming a Challenging Situation

There have been many minor academically challenging situations that I have encountered in my lifetime, but only one major situation that I learned to overcome. It was a difficult time in my life when I struggled academically and also mentally because of what was happening with my health. Over a year ago, I encountered a situation where I had to go through a traumatic surgery that affected my schooling, which I was thankfully able to overcome.

In the middle of my Junior year of high school, I discovered a large bump that was forming around my pelvic area. I was not aware of what it was until I went to get an ultrasound, and they found out that it was a large cyst that was forming on top of my right ovary. After going in and out of doctors appointments, and in and out of school, I was definitely struggling to keep my grades up and getting my schoolwork done. I have always been a good student, maintaining a 4.0 GPA throughout high school, but when this tragic event happened to me I was definitely struggling more than I ever had before.

On top of finding out what was going on in my body, we discovered that I needed major surgery to take out both the cyst and my ovary because they were connected. With all of this going through my head, I didn’t have time to even think about school, homework, or studying. My motivation for completing schoolwork was at an all time low because of what I was dealing with. Aside from getting surgery, there was also a possibility of it containing cancer, and that was when I was at my lowest mental state of mind. I could only think of the worst, preparing myself of what could come in the near future.

When it was all finally over, I had a six week recovery which took a major toll on my academics, but thankfully my teachers were all very understanding and I was able to complete all of the work I missed while recovering. Although I was able to make all of my schoolwork up, it was still a major challenge for me to go through this both mentally and academically. Going in and out of school for countless number of appointments and then for recovery took a tremendous toll on my academics, and I am so thankful that I was able to overcome this tragic event in my life, with the help of my family and teachers.