One of my greatest skills is perseverance, and I discovered it during a very difficult time in my life. For several months in the beginning of my junior year, I had a major problem with pole vaulting. Often, I would be trying to jump in a way that I had successfully done many times before, but for some reason, I would run through every single attempt. Physically, I should have been able to jump, but psychologically, I could not do it. I ran through hundreds of times without knowing why I was doing it or what I could do to change it.
The experience was immensely challenging for me. I had been pole vaulting long enough that it had become a way that I defined myself. Not only that, but as I got more frustrated, I put more pressure on myself, which