Leanne Ruiz
English 12 AP
October 6, 2008
Dollard
Always Keep Your Head Up
“The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” - Winston Churchill. I am the optimist Winston Churchill is referring to in this quote. If you were new to my school and you wanted to know more about me, any student you ask would tell you that I am the tall, loud, funny, cheerleader who never notices the bad side of life. Living with an older brother and a single mother, I have dealt with hardships in regards to family matters, school, and just common everyday problems. However, I am not one to read into the difficult times; I would rather deal with it promptly and move on to more positive things. Coming from a struggling past, I have learned that being upset over little situations will not solve the problem. With being positive, comes a natural sense of being able to adapt to change quickly, or being able to let go of things and move on. Optimism, dealing with challenges, and being a role model all play a major part in remaining positive. With that being said, I will use those three factors in my pursuit of becoming successful in life.
Optimism plays a key role in how someone could be positive. Optimism means no matter how awful a situation may be, there can always be an upside. For example, when I was a sophomore, I really struggled with an Honors class. During that point in my life, I was not very positive and felt distressed about everything. Now that I look back, I realized that instead of beating myself up over the outcome of that class and other mistakes I made, I can take each situation as a learning experience that will prevent me from making similar mistakes in other classes and in the future. Not only did I learn from my mistakes, but I also learned about myself and how I need to stay more focused, positive, and not give up even when times are rough. Being optimistic about these certain...