Adversity is a learning opportunity to achieve success.
[Music]
keep your faith to the sunshine
and you cannot see a shadow
this inspiring quote written by the
great helen teller
grabbed me the moment i read it do any
of you know what this quote means
for those of you who may have nodded
i’ve got to give you a round of applause
because i’ll be honest i didn’t get this
quote at first at all
but now after going to some of the
hardest times of my life because of this
great pandemic
i’ve taken both the mental and physical
journey and i think i’ve stumbled on
this meaning
hi i’m drew kilaru a typical teenage boy
who has been through
and witnessed quite a few losses
nothing compared to what some of you may
be going through like the loss of a job
or even more devastating
the loss of a family member or a loved
one
but even though my losses may have been
smaller they still taught me a lesson
that i want to share
with you so my journey started when i
read a report from the french university
ipsos
the report states that based on numerous
factors such as health
and living conditions 64
of the world’s population is happy
unfortunately this study was done back
in 2019
and times have definitely changed this
year just look at these numbers that the
cdc
gathered many people are trudging to
2020
grappling with crippling heartbreaking
loss
so many people are so unhappy
but i’m here to suggest that there may
actually be a way to get our happiness
back on track
let’s start with me like many young
students
i felt like the end of spring break was
a portal to a different dimension
school which is at the center of any
students lives
suddenly turned upside down
along the technical challenges of online
school i felt that education had been
deeply impacted
i always enjoyed being challenged but
now that challenge just became another
loss to add to the list
i thought the academic bar had been
lowered and i couldn’t wait for things
to become normal again
when fall came around 8th grade seemed
somewhat more promising
and even a little more challenging but
unfortunately
nothing replaced school except for
school
another way i’ve been impacted involves
basketball
basketball is one of my greatest ways of
working on stress is my bridge to
socializing and it’s also one of my
biggest passions
that is until march of 2020 took that
away
like any teenage kid for the first week
i pouted
complained through fits and even when i
was striking as my parents
well that didn’t last long one early
morning
however i tied up my newer jordans
grabbed my favorite yellow basketball
and then went out to my driveway hoop
and there
i started to play i started a shoot
yeah it wasn’t a team and nobody was
even keeping score
but it was still basketball it was still
my passion
and nobody not even the great pandemic
could rob me of those moments
that some might call hope and i think
that’s key to finding happiness
even in the midst of loss because a loss
is inevitable
but happiness isn’t we have to create
our own happiness and to do so
you need to know what it means for you
for me happiness is how you feel once
you’ve made the game-winning shot
no matter how many defenders try to slow
you down
in fact i probably feel even happier
when i defended trying to hold me back
and yet i’m still able to succeed by
making that shot
someone else was able to find happiness
using his approach was civil engineer
student eliot ryan
during the pandemic he was able to build
an entire roller coaster in his
grandpa’s backyard
just after watching youtube videos the
pandemic gave elliot the time for this
incredible achievement
and i’m willing to bet that it made him
happy
and i’m also willing to bet that each of
you have found at least one more passion
over the last several months
or at least gotten more involved with a
passion that you already had
if you haven’t done this i urge you to
do so whether it’s more time for family
game night
or maybe reconnect with nature through
simple walks we can all grow as people
in spite of this great pandemic
a time of significant loss we can all
learn new things from these
unprecedented times
soon we’ll be welcoming in a new year
and i know many of you will be glad to
see 2020 go well let’s not lose the
valuable lessons we’ve learned
through this challenging year and so i
urge you
all of you to always find those little
moments of success
and hope to get you through any
hardships you may face
and whenever you can i urge you to at
least be happy
stay safe and thank you for listening
you