Do you ever feel hopeless? Like you can’t overcome a problem? Feeling like you should just give up? Well, a great way to overcome those challenges and obstacles is to think of positive things. I like to think of positive traits, especially the character trait perseverance. I love to think of perseverance because of how my friend Patty used it.

The character trait perseverance is the determination to do something in spite of it being tough or difficult. That is exactly how my friend, Patty, used and still uses that trait.

Last year for Patty was rough. A lot happened to her, including two of her family members passing away and her dog dying. Because of all of that and more, Patty was never in school. She missed over half of the school year last year, leading to her awful grades and her failing.  As things started to get worse, she took out her emotions in negative ways, resulting in self-harm, self-hate, and suicidal thoughts. She became depressed.

Seeing this happen, Patty’s family decided to put her in a mental hospital; she was there for three weeks. The mental hospital allowed her to use chromebooks, and while she was in the mental hospital she managed to do all her missing work with her chromebook. She also took the time to really focus on her mental health. She got lots of sleep, made sure she ate enough everyday, and she went to therapy twice a day. She also met with her medical doctor weekly and got put on medication. She eventually stopped having those negative thoughts that she had before. She was passing all of her classes now, and when she came back she was so much happier.

Patty is now living a great life because she persevered through her family members passing away, her dog dying, failing school, and, at first, coping in negative ways to help her through her challenges. That is why perseverance is a great trait that anyone can use to help them through something with which they struggle.

 

 

 

 

-Eliana M.