When it comes to the term adversity, many people have their own definition of the word. Personally, I would define adversity as one’s ability to overcome and persevere through hard or challenging times. My definition for this term comes from the challenges I have faced and overcome myself, with one very difficult obstacle in particular. When I was nine years old, just in third grade, my mother was severely beaten by my father and half-brother. Of course, this obstacle is more violent than others, but an obstacle, nonetheless. The night of the biggest challenge I have ever faced started out as any other night: dinner with my family, my older half-brother coming over for a few drinks with my father, the usual. After staying up for as long as I could I went to go lay down and go to sleep. Once I had finally laid down, I was abruptly surprised by my mother’s voice screaming from the other room. I jumped out of bed, ran to the living room, and saw my older brother holding her down and hitting her. As a little girl I had no idea what to do, and I did not have much strength to do anything. At this point my father grabbed me and held my head towards my mother, making me watch her be harmed. My size did have its benefits, though, for I was able to slip out of my father’s grasp. I ran as fast as I could to our home phone and then bolted to our bathroom. From there I called 911 and told them what was happening and where to find us. Thankfully, I gave all the information to the emergency responder and hid the phone just before my father found me. I was brought back to the living room and was there waiting for someone to save us for what seemed like an eternity. Finally, just as my mother had tried to escape and was thrown down again, a police officer stepped into the house. My father was a very wealthy businessman and had just built us a house in a brand-new neighborhood, making our address pretty much unknown. The reason the policeman found us was not because of the address I gave him, but rather because I had accidentally left the phone on the line and they were able to track our location using this. The phone being left on the line is the one thing that I can be thankful for from that night. What does it mean to be resilient in the face of adversity? It means that my mother and I were able to push past that night and grow stronger because of it. It means that we were able to finally purchase a home of our own. It means that my mother and I were able to move on with our lives and find ways to be happy. Being resilient means the struggles we face today allow us to push through and enjoy the peace that comes after. My story is not a happy one, but it includes the biggest challenge I have ever had to face. The challenges I have faced have allowed me to become stronger. My mother and I still struggle occasionally, but we would rather cherish what we have than focus on how much or how little money we have. I look to my mother as my role model for how she was able to take care of us after everything. Calling our accomplishments “impressive” would be an injustice to the challenges we have faced. Over the years of healing and growing, I have found school to be a haven in which I am unstoppable. I am active in clubs and extracurriculars all while maintaining a 4.0 GPA in both high school and concurrent classes. As a matter of fact, by the time I graduate high school I will have one full year of college completed. Moreover, I will be attending the University of Central Oklahoma this coming fall. My plan is to double major in forensic science and computer science so that I can help people that have fallen victim to crimes. My goal for my future career will be to one day work in the forensics lab for the Federal Bureau of Investigations. However, this may be extremely difficult without funding from scholarships to obtain my degrees. The Harold Reighn Moxie scholarship, if received, will allow me to push even further and accomplish my academic goals.