Branches and Bark: Climbing To Success
The journey to success is NOT straightforward.
In the eyes of an exuberant nine year old, nothing can instantaneously wreak more havoc on a Saturday afternoon than a thirty foot tall tree engulfing her colorful kite. I stood at the base of the oak and craned my neck upward, flabbergasted by its stature. My kite struggled between its two apical branches, shackled in the tree's grasp by the legion of bright green leaves surrounding it, seemingly rendering it impossible for even a hurricane to dislodge it. Only one viable solution remained; despite having never climbed a tree in my life, I assumed a squat position and leapt upward with all my might. After missing my target twice, my small hands finally grabbed the coarse bark of the lowest branch, suspending me a foot off the ground. I thrusted my body weight to the left, pressing my worn Skechers against the tree trunk to stabilize myself as I half-crawled, half-pulled myself up to the first branch.
"She's five years old and doesn't know any English yet, how can she go to school like this?"
"Mommy, I will learn. I'm not scared. Send me to school, please."
Utilizing the same method, I secured the next branch, and the one after that. Pausing to catch my breath, I scanned the maze of bark and leaf above me to seek out the nearest branch, and frowned when I saw its location three feet overhead. Basic arithmetic proved my petite frame insufficient to reach it, and a fall from this elevation would be detrimental. However, my kite remained ensnared - falling was an acceptable risk. Toddling on the thin branch, I gathered all my strength and soared upward. My heart plunged as the rough limb escaped my clutches and I plummeted, slamming into a lower bough.
"I asked Emily to be my friend, but she didn't even want to play with me. I think that she can't understand my English."
A sharp, numbing pain throbbed in my lower back. Nevertheless, I slowly stood up, regained my balance, and resumed my ascent, somehow discovering crevices and knots in the tree to serve as footholds. Every breath proved laborious, and the abrasions from the textured bark on my extremities began to inflame and bleed. Despite the agony I felt, my limbs seemed to advance on their own.
"You read 79 books this school year?!"
"Yes! My favorite series was A-to-Z Mysteries. I couldn't put them down!"
Three more branches. Two. One. Gripping the trunk for support, I teetered on my tiptoes, extended my arms, and closed my fingers around the kite. Taking a deep breath, I tugged harshly and wrestled it from its restraints. Finally...my prize was in my grasp. My vision became hazy as I peered down through the network of leaves and bark at the ground thirty feet below. No longer was I a girl on the earth, gazing longingly at my goal - I sprung into the sky and sought heights I never thought possible.
"Congratulations! The speech you submitted was absolutely beautiful...we've chosen you as the speaker for the 8th grade graduation ceremony!"
Throughout my life, I've learned that determining a solution to overcome an obstacle sometimes means testing the boundaries between what we know is possible and what we believe to be impossible. Occasionally, risks must be taken despite the improbability of triumph, and success cannot be attained without remaining pertinacious in spite of adversities.
The journey to success is NOT straightforward.
Scaling that tree and retrieving my kite made it evident to me that anyone can accomplish even the most daunting of tasks with the right strategy. Immigrating from India to America at the age of five and knowing only Telugu, I struggled with attending school. The culture shock made assimilation incredibly distressing, and I endured many challenges socially, academically, and mentally. Nevertheless, by immersing myself in the world of literature, television, and writing throughout the years, I overcame my seeming lack of capital when I came to America. I successfully became an Indian-America, and today, no one would be able to discern my history of academic struggles.
We should all attack the challenges in our lives with optimism and determination. Instead of feeling deterred by hurdles, see them as opportunities - both for growth and developing everlasting experiences.
5 Respectful And Empowering Ways To Handle Rejection
Not everyone will like you, but not everyone has to.
You work hard, you do the right thing, and the inevitable happens. Someone comes along and begins to give you a backhanded compliment, or if you have the misfortune, a backhanded comment. You are left with a bad taste in your mouth and your day starts to turn sour. When people belittle you and your efforts, here are five respectful and empowering ways to sweeten those moments of rejection.
1. Never give someone a reason to not like you.
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People will say what they want and think what they want, no matter the subject or person of choice. It will not matter who you are or what you do, someone or another manages to pay you their two cents. You have to remember, you did not give them reasons to justify their words or actions towards you. These people who exhibit unwarranted thoughts about you are just another drop in the ocean. They do not define your good intentions or self-worth. They are not for you and you need not place any investigation or worry into the mystery of why they do not like you. You do not have to reason with them any further. Simply look forward to the people who care to be curious and open-minded about you.
2. Kill them with kindness.
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The dead push up daisies, but you plant the seed. Some people will smile proudly knowing they have said something cruel or disheartening to get a rise out of you but look at this as an opportunity. Every moment is a chance for you to choose how you react. Ten percent of life is what happens to you, it is out of your control. Ninety percent of life is what you do about it. Use your words to encourage, not discourage, civil discourse. Say what matters and say it with an honest purpose. State your case and let them respond how they will; you cannot control others, but you can control yourself. Be a good example others have yet to show themselves.
3. Turn the "No's" into a "Yes."
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The poet Sylvia Plath had this to say about rejection: "I love my rejection slips. They show me I try." She was talking about the process of writing literary submissions for publication, but her attitude still stands. This is the mindset it takes to find the success you want out of life. Despite all the people that deny you and your work, there are people that see potential and promise in you. It does not matter how many people say "No" to you. What does matter is the number of times you can get back to work and look forward to that one "Yes." You are working for the "Yes's" in your life. Forget the dream-killers and eye-rollers, they lack the hope and drive you have in what you do. They do not do what you do and do not do it like you do. For every "No" there is a "Yes."
4. Let your work speak for you.
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Sometimes no matter how endearing your elevator pitch sounds or how carefully crafted your resume is, people still find fault where there might not even be any. Your accomplishments are your own and that is something to take pride in. Of course, the right amount of pride separates you from the rest and for the better. Pride and confidence must not become virtues or vices that exceed who you are. The work you put out is an extension of who you are and no one can take that away from you. Work speaks for itself and yourself best, so focus on your goals and let your results stand in for your words people did not value. Your best is rarely seen at the moment of inspiration, usually after the final stroke of the brush has wet the canvas. It is your goal to show that stalwart work ethic in good times and in bad.
5. Your process will protect you.
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Keep working. Rule out the distractions and the doubts, the fears, and the flippant fools. Know that your process will save you in trying times. Work against all odds. At some point, things turn even and add up, but you have to be dedicated and diligent. Your sights are seen only through your eyes and your need is to show others what you see. Until then, your skill, your talent, will be honed with consistency. Show up to your work even when you have not been hit with inspiration. The Kodak moment will present itself through your process. Due diligence is the price of success. Eyes on the prize and nose to the grindstone. No one knows your work better than you.
Be the trampoline that bends the will of gravity-like rejection long enough until you can fly.