This I Believe…. by Katherine O’Reilly

I believe in the power of resilience.

Throughout my life, I have been tested as to how I will react to rejection. Although rejection sounds like a powerful, hurtful word, the types of rejection I have faced in my life have ranged from small instances to events that have threatened my identity.

The first rejection I recall from my life was in the fourth grade. In my school district, there are four elementary schools that range from kindergarten to third grade, and once the fourth grade comes around all of these schools merge together. I remember having a really difficult time and having trouble adjusting to new people, a new school, and even being introduced to the “mean girl” mentality that didn’t exist in my previous school of 150 kids. I remember my Dad telling me to be resilient. At the time I had no idea what that meant, but from that moment on it played a significant role in my life.

The sixth grade was a growing period of my life. The rough patch my parents and I thought would pass just like anything else sadly did not, and we decided the next step was for me to transfer to a smaller, private school. It was a little defeating knowing that I couldn’t stick up for myself, and it felt as though I took the easy way out by leaving. As I began my first few days of the sixth grade, I remembered what my Dad told me. I didn’t have a lot of friends at my old school, but this was a new start. I chose to be resilient, and use my prior failures as motivation to succeed in my new situation.

The most testing event of my life was my junior year of high school. My entire life I played soccer. I had traveled all across the country competing in tournaments, and it was just a right of passage that I would eventually go on to play in college. My first two years of high school soccer were both enjoyable and rewarding, as I was a captain and I was playing among girls with the same mindset as mine. It wasn’t until a new coach was hired that my identity as a soccer player was questioned.

Being fast was never my strong suit. Honestly, I couldn’t run a mile in under eight minutes. But where I lacked in speed, I made up for in skill and agility. To my surprise, the new coach felt I was not fit to play if I was not able to sprint as fast as the girls I was competing against, girls who I had played over and among my entire high school career up to this point. To make a long story short, I played about 25 minutes that entire season.

I was so embarrassed and heartbroken,  but decided I would not be subject to failure when I knew I was being cheated. So I decided to be resilient, just like my Dad taught me. I began looking for a new passion and club, which led me to musical theatre. To my surprise, after trying out for my first high school play, I landed a lead role. To this day I am heavily involved in theatre.

Without resilience, I would stay stagnant. I would not be able to grow from my failures, and would mourn the things I lost or the things I didn’t get. Of course, I miss soccer, but I replaced this void with a new passion that I have found great success in. If I never faced this rejection, I may have never ended up at Penn State!

Resilience has helped me find my way in college as well. In college, it’s impossible to be involved in everything, and this mentality of growing from my failures has aided me to become the student, friend, and successful person I am today.

This is why I believe in resilience.

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