Through Resilience Comes Success by Sierra

Through Resilience Comes Success by Sierra - July 2016 Scholarship Essay

“It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.” –Charles Darwin
On the first day of human physiology lecture, Professor Sonia Diaz read us that exact quote by Darwin, followed by reading us the definition of the word “resilient.” From the get go, she made it clear that learning physiology would be hard and that we would be bent and stretched to our max but to welcome the challenge; to be responsive to change, whether that meant changing our study habits or simply changing our perspective, but most of all to remain resilient.
I learned how to be resilient while being Professor Diaz’s student. I started out with a D and was barely passing her tests to getting an 89% on a cumulative physiology final and passed her class with B. While this required a lot of change on my part, this success and new found confidence and resilience would not have been possible without Professor Diaz. She taught me to be resilient not only in school but in life. She was the one who taught me to embrace every situation, regardless of its difficulty and use it to my advantage- to become stronger, smarter, and more resilient.
I have had my share of naysayers but the biggest naysayer of all was my college counselor who told me that I am not smart enough to get into nursing school. Had it not been for Professor Diaz, I would have believed that remark and gave up. But, I have learned that when you know what it means to be resilient and you have become it, nothing and no one can stop you, except for yourself. I took what was meant to discourage me from pursing my passion to my advantage. I have been accepted into Franciscan University of Steubenville's nursing program for the fall of 2016. I may not be the strongest, nor the smartest, but I am the most responsive to change.
I am resilient.