December 2013

 

One of the many personality tests I have taken this year was one over resilience. Resilient has been one of my favorite words for a long time. Literally, it is defined as returning back to the original form or position after being bent, compressed or stretched. However, resilience is so much more than returning back to the original form. I picture a phoenix rising from the ashes, or someone in training coming back the next day sore, but stronger. A classmate came up with my favorite definition of the word: "The ability to make your own sunshine." Resilience is knowing the odds may be against you, and rising to the occasion anyway.

 

The components of resilience according to this test were: emotional regulation, impulse control, optimism, causal analysis, empathy, self-efficacy, and reaching out. I scored above average in most of the categories, a trend that matches the data for other Business Honors students. I had never sat down to consider my own resilience until this moment, and when I did, I realized my personal choice to respond in a positive and proactive manner to my life has caused me to become more resilient through the adversity I have faced.

 

When I was in junior high, my parents divorced. I moved from my hometown, and our family went through an extended period of loss. Rather than let my circumstance define me, I learned from the experience and used it to grow. Now, nearing the completion of my first semester in college, I am thankful for the tenacious and joyful nature I tried to cultivate during that time. Of course, I handle my emotions and reactions differently as a college freshman than I did as a seventh-grade girl, but my fundamental tactics have remained the same. I still remind myself that whatever I'm facing will eventually come to an end; I count my blessings, and I usually have a positive quote tucked somewhere on my person. 

 

There have, and will continue to be, times in my life where I want to give up, but this is not the nature of resilience. A large part of my optimism stems from my faith, from the hope that whatever God has brought me to, He will see me through. When I think about my life, and my problems in the grand scheme of things, I realize that whatever opposition I am facing, someone else in the world has faced before and made it through. I think about people like Margaret Thatcher, Winston Churchill, and George Washington. People who led nations during wars and depressions, and suddenly my upcoming test or project does not seem as intimidating. The two aspects of this test that I most identify with mirror my thoughts: optimism - seeing the sunny side of life even through storm clouds, and self efficacy - our faith in our ability to succeed. As I move forward in college and in my career, one verse rings especially true to me,

                    "...suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope..." Romans 5:3-5.

This reminds me that whatever I am facing, I can learn from it, I can grow from it, and I can move on from it.