Crutches and Calculus: Overcoming the Odds by Erica

Crutches and Calculus: Overcoming the Odds by Erica - June 2016 Scholarship Essay

When walking the halls of my high school, one can see my picture hanging amidst other students who spend innumerable hours working earnestly and studying thoroughly to achieve the title of first in their class. Last year, I completed a decade-long, personal goal as I graduated as valedictorian- a coveted title in academia. However, a mere six months earlier, this achievement seemed almost unreachable.
In March of 2013, I was diagnosed with severe hip dysplasia. This diagnoses was accompanied by the need for two major surgery and a temporary end to my active lifestyle. For the majority of my final semester in high school, I was wheelchair, crutches or cane-bound. At the same time, I was enrolled in four collegiate classes and competing for the title of valedictorian. The seemingly unending pattern of doctor visits, physical therapy and stints of immobilizing of pain discouraged me from believing my goal would ever come to fruition.
Overcoming this obstacle was difficult. With the encouragement of my family and the support of my classmates, teachers, and dear friends, I was inspired to push through the difficult times and find the dedication I so often commit to my school work. Late nights characterized my schedule and its was not uncommon to find me passing lunch hour at the library. AP Calculus, the notoriously challenging class in my high school, lived up to its infamy, requiring hour after hour of studying each week
Although many seniors breeze by their last weeks in high school, this final semester of my education taught me more than any other. As a student, I learned that challenges that seem insurmountable require persistence and perseverance- few things worth truly knowing are simple. As a person, I found that life will have obstacles and we do not get to choose when or where they will arise. We only get to choose how we handle them. Through self-determination and learning to ask for help from my family, peers, and teachers, I walked across the stage as first in my class and accomplish one of the goals I set for myself as a hopeful, eager young girl.