I’ve never told anyone this before: I was once illiterate.

I grew up in an ever-changing household where neither the next meal, nor the next day, was guaranteed. I was not concerned with the trivial things that every other kid worried about, such as video games, sleepovers, and playing baseball on Saturday afternoon; I was worried about how my future might play out.

My mother was disabled and grew up in an environment where education was secondary to all else. As a result, she was not able to teach me to read or write. My father, who worked as a manual laborer for most of his life, was similarly unable to teach me these basic skills. Naturally, I started my schooling with very limited ability to succeed.

However, this setback did not -- and has not -- kept me from enduring and working hard. The idea that it was through my initiative that I was capable of changing my circumstances was ingrained in my personality. With assistance, I taught myself the majority of the foundations of elementary and intermediate school, from reading to writing to mathematics. I experienced countless hours of frustration, but they did not deter me from my studies. Quite to the contrary, they inspired me to persevere and achieve my goals of learning to read and write.

The majority of those hours occurred in the corner of a Hardback Café inside Hastings. Within a short walking distance, I had access to the entire bookstore, with a good hundred or so variations of books. What seemed like an endless archive of knowledge simply sat on the bookshelf calling my name. I had no idea where to start, so I dove in head first.

I started off with the concept of fractions and decimals. Initially, I was frustrated because I didn’t understand the basics. Yet one by one, I tackled the giant wall of books. It took countless hours of dedication—and coffee—but the overwhelming feeling of pride and jubilee after I finished never escaped me. Even today, the pride and joy I once felt still echoes in my heart. These feelings make me appreciate success and the hard work necessary to achieve it. Now when I feel down or overwhelmed, I often think to myself, “I may be enduring a storm, but rain makes things grow.”

With the challenges I’ve faced, I’ve only become hungry for more. Due to my
inclination for challenges, I sought out a high school that would better prepare me for higher­level education, the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences, and the Arts. I took my senior year as a time to pause and reflect on the fact that I would be graduating from that institution and that the decision to demand more of myself has shown me that this is only a stepping stone in my education; I am prepared to take on the difficulties college will throw at me.

Ultimately, I know I am defined by my desire to learn and grow as an individual. I am not bound by my past adversities. Rather, I use them as tools of learning and growth. I am defined not by where I begin but where I end.

As I further my education at Beloit College where I major in Geology and minor in Chemistry I reflect on my past adversities and use them as inspiration to appreciate where I came from, and where I am headed.