In the past, I have had a problem with acknowledging that hardships that brought me to Spelman. I tried to brush them off as simple obstacles that everyone overcomes on their journey. When I turned twenty, something sparked inside of me and made me re-evaluate my life past, present, and future. That is when I discovered and defined grit for myself. Grit is a deep, multi-faceted courage and character that that allows an individual to overcome challenges. Everyone is born with it, but true comes to the surface when an individual is faced with a challenge that change the direction of their destiny. I feel that I have shown grit in many ways throughout my life, but two of the major examples are through forgiveness and perseverance. These may …show more content…
He came around on Sundays to pick up a plate from my mother and I was (unwillingly) sent to his house when I went crazy at the mouth. This was all I was used to. I didn’t have room at his house and to be honest, I didn’t even know his full address. I never thought this meant anything. Yes, I saw my friends with their dads on vacations or during the annual dad and donuts breakfast. Still, I thought this didn’t meaning anything. When I got to high school, those Sunday plates grew more and more infrequent and then when I got to Spelman, he got sick. I was so mad. Mad because this man could literally die and the only memories I’d have would be talking to him while he watched his plate being made and being upset while we watched NBA TV at his house. This anger stayed heavy on my heart until the second semester of my sophomore year. I visited my half-brother and we talked about our respective relationships with our father. In that moment, I saw and understood forgiveness for the first time. I didn’t pick forgiveness because I wanted to tell my life story, I picked forgiveness as an example of grit because forgiveness teaches you an emotional courage that allows success to replace the baggage you let