My Middle Name is Adversity by Garrett

My Middle Name is Adversity by Garrett - May 2022 Scholarship Essay

Going through middle school and high school was a rough period for me. I was physically and verbally bullied. I was overweight, I had a speech impediment, I was a good Christian straight-A, teacher's pet just to name a few of the things I was bullied for. Getting my head slammed into lockers, stabbed with pencils, and tripped while walking to my desk, adversity became my middle name. Going off to a new state, a new town, and a new school, I thought that college was always going to be rainbows, butterflies, and unicorns. Well, college is not always that place for me. I'm the quiet one that no one wants to sit next to in the front row of the classroom. I'm friends with all of the professors (whether I have them as my own professor or not). I'm that overly good model Christian guy that doesn't cross the red line (even though I go to a Christian university). These are just some of the things that people say about me behind my back. It took me a while to figure out that I didn't need to stay friends with everyone I met on campus, especially the ones that were talking about me behind my back. In doing so, and continuing my friendships with the ones that love me and care about me I found my closest friends, that I'll carry with me for life. People always say what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, or those that deal with the most pain in life, have a greater calling on the other side. I know all of that is true, but if I could have one do-over in life, how I wanted life to go I would have done without all the pain, all the bullying, all the naysayers. I know now my name is Garrett Arnold Wedemire, and adversity is not my middle name, because adversity does not define who I am.