We all Have the Strength by Marissa

We all Have the Strength by Marissa - October 2020 Scholarship Essay

The best book that I read this year is My Story by Elizabeth Smart. This autobiography is about Elizabeth's kidnapping, surviving a kidnapping, and escaping her kidnapper. She was fourteen when a man snuck into her family home in the middle of the night and sneaked up on her and stole her from her house. She was taken with only the pajamas on her back and no shoes. The man was Brian David Mitchell, Brain dragged her on a multiple hour hike up a miniature mountain in her neighboring town. Elizabeth had hoped for someone to find her, but once the sun had begun to rise she realized how far away she was from home and how deep the forest was around her. Once she got to Brian's ideal destination there was a tent and older women waiting there. Elizabeth was immediately chained up, at first she was treated as good as could be imagined. After the first couple of days, Brain began to abuse her, rape her and told her if she tried to escape they would kill her entire family. She had hit rock bottom, she had lost all hope. No rescue in sight, until one day she was left alone at their camp she was able to get out of the chains but once she did Elizabeth had no idea which way to run. She was able to find her way back to civilization and get help and return to her beloved family.
Some people might describe 2020 as their rock bottom. A lot of people's lives did a full 180 over the last 6 months. For me personally, yes my life the past couple of months has been hard. Sometimes I need to step back and really look at myself for a moment and realize; yes, my life has been hard but, it could be worse. Before 2020, almost everyone was going through life at a fast pace never slowing down to realize all the good we had in the world. Complaining about the smallest things, most of us had never felt tragedy until now. People have experienced this pandemic in a multitude of different ways. For me I would say I am one of the lucky ones, I still have all of my family and am somehow still having my senior swim season. For a while, all I was doing was complaining about a situation I could not control.
Although this year has been a rollercoaster so far, I have to remind myself that it could always be worse and there is nothing you can do to control a situation like this. Elizabeth's story gave me the power to push through the hardest moments over the past couple of months. She writes her story with so much power and motivation. Although everyone's story is different, for me her story has given me the motivation to push through this year and to appreciate my family and the little things more.