Letting The Past Make Instead of Break by Briana

Letting The Past Make Instead of Break by Briana - May 2021 Scholarship Essay

My academic career throughout high school has been everything but normal. I would almost say that my luck is the worst that it can get. I have actually experienced two academic challenges which include the Covid pandemic and hurricane Michael.
On October 10th, 2018, the category five hurricane Michael came over Panama City. The hurricane destroyed everything in its path including, stores, homes, hospitals, cars, etc. My family had decided to try and ride out the storm and it was the worst decision we had ever made. Sitting through the storm made me feel powerless as I heard shingles, glass, nails, and other debris slam against my house. After the storm had passed, my family decided to walk outside and see the damage. I remember standing there, just staring at the world that had quite literally crumbled around me. I was horrified at the fact that I had absolutely no form of communication with anyone. So, all we could do is check on our neighbors and wait for help.
It ended up taking two days for my family to find a clear path out of Panama City. We ended up staying with a close family friend of ours in Ocala. We had no clue how long we would have to be there or how bad the damage was in the downtown parts of Panama City. Everyone was so traumatized that we couldn’t even listen to the news reports of the devastation. School ended up being out for a little over a month due to the damage of our school building. Although we were excited to come back, school was never the same. Most kids did not have internet connection or even power to their houses. All of our online homework assignments had to be done at school which caused even more stress to the students. Life in Panama City was hard for awhile, but as a community we were able to overcome the past.
Flash forward to the year 2020. The Covid pandemic has just hit the United States of America. Stores are shutting down, people are panicking, and schools are shut down once again. Students all over America were forced to attend and learn in their classes virtually. This made learning very difficult as some students do not learn as easily when they are on the other side of a screen. My family had predicted for this to be over by the next school year when it, in fact, wasn’t. It is now my senior year of high school and Covid has taken away different school events and freedoms from me. The only thing for me to possibly do is keep pushing forward to become successful.
From both of these tragedies, I have learned that life often comes with many obstacles. I can either let these things define me, or, I can be grateful for the lesson each obstacle has taught me. I have also learned that I need to be grateful for each and every day because I never know what is about to happen next.