What Challenges Have You Overcome?
MARCH 5, 2014 5:06 AM March 5, 2014 5:06 am
Kayla Montgomery (4) has become a top runner for Mount Tabor High School despite having multiple sclerosis. Related ArticleCredit Jeremy M. Lange for The New York Times
The Times is full of articles every week about people who have overcome challenges of all kinds and have learned from failure.
What challenges have you overcome? Maybe they haven’t been as outwardly dramatic as that of this teenager, who runs track even though her multiple sclerosis causes her to collapse after every race, but perhaps they have felt dramatic and difficult to you.
In “For Runner With M.S., No Pain While Racing, No Feeling at the Finish,” Lindsay Crouse writes:
• When a pack of whip-thin girls zipped across the finish of the 1,600-meter race at a recent track meet here, the smallest runner’s legs wobbled like rubber, and she flopped into her waiting coach’s arms. She collapses every time she races.
Kayla Montgomery, 18, was found to have multiple sclerosis three years ago. Defying most logic, she has gone on to become one of the fastest young distance runners in the country — one who cannot stay on her feet after crossing the finish line.
Because M.S. blocks nerve signals from Montgomery’s legs to her brain, particularly as her body temperature increases, she can move at steady speeds that cause other runners pain she cannot sense, creating the peculiar circumstance in which the symptoms of a disease might confer an athletic advantage.
But intense exercise can also trigger weakness and instability; as Montgomery goes numb in races, she can continue moving forward as if on autopilot, but any disruption, like stopping, makes her lose control.
“When I finish, it feels like there’s nothing underneath me,” Montgomery said. “I start out feeling normal and then my legs gradually go numb. I’ve trained myself to think about other things while I race, to get through. But when I break the motion, I can’t control them and I fall.”
At the finish of every race, she staggers and crumples. Before momentum sends her flying to the ground, her coach braces to catch her, carrying her aside as her competitors finish and her parents swoop in to ice her legs. Minutes later, sensation returns and she rises, ready for another chance at forestalling a disease that one day may force her to trade the track for a wheelchair. M.S. has no cure.
Students: Read the entire article, then tell us …
— What do you think about Kayla Montgomery’s determination to run, even if she collapses after every race?
— Whom else do you admire who has confronted a challenge and overcome it?
— When have you ever faced a challenge of some kind Consider not just physical challenges, but emotional, academic, interpersonal or artistic challenges as well. What did you do? What happened in the end?
— If you’ll be applying to college sometime soon, you may be interested to know that one Common Application prompt reads, “Recount an incident or time when you experienced failure. How did it affect you, and what lessons did you learn?” You might consider answering those questions here, too, perhaps as practice for your college essay.
Kaylas Montgomery's determination to run even if she falls is amazing. Kayla really wants to finish the race no matter what happens. It is something she wants to accomplish. She doesn't want to give up no matter what happens. Someone I have recently admire is tom Brady in the super bowl. His team was down more than 15 points at the end of the 3rd quarter and he did not give up he lead his team to a tie and made history on Sunday. No one ever in the super bowl has tied a game and went into overtime and made a comeback this big.
ReplyDeleteEverybody some point in there life has had to face challenges that they had to overcome , so emotionally some physically and some mentally. For me sometimes it it passing a test. What i have to do is study and practice the material that we learned from before. And sometimes that can be difficult or easy. And i tried my hardest and passed my test because I faced my challenges and didn't back away from them by not studying for the test. Everyone can face their own personally challenge if they just believe they can do it and try there hardest to succeed in their problems
I completely agree with you Chris. Kayla is truly amazing. I also agree that passing a test is a very big challenge. Especially when it's a math test.
DeleteThe challenges that i had to overcome was me having trouble running in baseball because of my knee because i hurt my knee a long time ago and i hurt it so now every once in a while it starts to hurt alot because of whatever i hurt in my knee so sometimes i couldnt play baseball which sucked because i love baseball but when i couldn´t play it really did sucked so i had to overcome that injury and just play with my knee hurting so when i first tried to play with it hurting and not sit on the bench it hurt alot but i did over come it one day and that was the best day of my life. Just like that girl that ran track she kept doing track even though after she ran she would collapse but even though she collapsed she would still run. So i had to do the same thing but just i didnt collapse after my knee just hurt alot after. But not all the time did i stay in the game sometimes i would leave the game or sit out for a little then after a while i would go back in the game and play until the end of the game.
ReplyDeleteAnother challenge that i had to overcome was not wanting to do my work in my math class. Even though i hated math and i hated doing it i had to do it anyway because i had to pass for the marking period and each and every marking period i still have to pass because if i don’t for my sophmore year i would have two math classes i would have take which would suck cause i would have twice as much homework and twice as much work to do in class. So even though i hate doing my work i still have to do it to pass.
I have overcome a lot in my life. Some of them were harder than others. But I still got through them no matter what it was. I have a lot of different ways to get through my obstacles. I think that everyone has obstacles they have to overcome in life. Whether it’s family, friends, or something personal. Everyone has their own way of overcoming them, and it’s good to learn how some people do it. But not everyone can learn just from you, they have to do it or learn it themselves. I never rely on anyone to teach me anything or to learn anything. I am a self learner and I like to do it my way. Her determination to run and finish was very strong. She seems very independent. I admire the Jews that survived the holocaust because they survived and overcame their huge obstacle. I have had many obstacles that were both physical and emotional. But i’ve dealt with so much nothing really phases me anymore. I just like to go with the flow. Nobody can hurt me and i don’t have any obstacles or problems. If someone does have a problem, I like to be able to help them, because I know i can. And that feeling is good because if you can help someone it means they know how to fix it now and don’t have to worry anymore. If people could overcome more obstacles without having to ask for anything, they would be much stronger people. But they don’t, they rely on other people to help them and can’t be independent. That’s one thing that ticks me off about it. I understand helping someone once or twice. But not every time they have a problem. They rely on you to always help themselves, and can’t do it themselves. It’s like they’re using you, for their own good, so they don’t have to deal with it. People need to become stronger with themselves and not ask all the time and deal with their problems. I want to apply to a college to be in the military. Nothing little like Marines though, I want to be in the Air Force or Coast Guard. I know I will have to face many challenges, But I know I can get through them no matter what.
ReplyDeleteI think her determination to run even though she collapses is because she likes to run. If i loved something that much i would do it to. No matter how hard it was or how much effort it took. Also if you love something you will have the courage to do it.
ReplyDeleteI admire my dad and he has confronted a challenge. The challenge he had was to stop drinking and smoking. He tried many times and he never could. But one day he said he was going to stop drinking and he hasn't had a drink since. Then two years later he said he wasn't going to smoke anymore and he stopped now he doesn't drink or smoke and he said he feels like a whole different person. He goes to the gym he is losing weight and it is the best thing that has ever happened to him.
I had a challenge and that was to start working for the things i need or not get them at all. My dad told me that i need to start working to buy the things i want because they can't buy me everything that i need in my life. They told me this because they said that if people buy you everything you will get used to it and you won't be able to live for yourself when the time comes. So i got a job and now i work every summer and i can buy everything that i need. This was a very good life lesson because i have seen people that don't have a job and don't buy things for themselves and they live with their parents still. There are many people in the world that are like this and it isn't good because they wont be able to do the things they need to do because they will need their parents to do everything for them so they should teach their kids to get a job early in their life.
I agree with what Justen says. I like how he says that Kayla's determination is to run. Also, I agree with when he says No matter how hard it was or how much effort it took. And he also explains how we all need to try for challenges to be completed, or else we won't get anywhere.
DeleteI think Kayla is a great runner and I admire her determination. So what if she collapses after every race at least she finishes them. It didn’t matter if she finished the race actually. All that matters is that she tried her best and that she had fun doing it. I admire my mom. She has to take care of three kids and trust me when I say this we’re a handful. Every time she has a problem she takes care of us first. I admire this because she always wants to be strong in front of us. She is my role model. I think everyone has faced a challenge in their lifetime some more challenging than others. I have always tried to solve my problems myself but sometimes that doesn’t work. One time I had a very big test and I thought that I didn’t need any help studying even though I didn’t know what I was supposed to study. I should have asked for help and because I didn’t I failed my test.
ReplyDeleteI think that Kayla Montgomery’s determination to run even if she collapses after every race is incredible and very hard to do.The mile gets you to push yourself and it’s not about being first. It’s about breaking your last time and pass your goals,and times that you want to achieve your only enemy on that track is yourself. I admire Sara Kendall because she has some difficulties when she runs and she still gets through them she just keeps running forwards. Every time she finishes a lap she gets faster and stronger instead of getting weaker and slower like some of the runners. I faced a challenge not that long ago. Every wednesday we run in gym, and every month he increases it by one lap, or he adds 2 minutes depending whether we run inside or outside. So, every month I try to jog for the whole amount of time that we have to run. This month, we are running on the track for 5 or 6 laps, and inside for 18 to 20 minutes. I try my best not to stop and I don’t think I’ve stopped once on any running day. Also, I admire another challenge from one of my family members. They tried to wake up every day early in the morning and run around the block 2 or 3 times every day. Eventually, it became her morning routine and she got used to it and ended up waking up every day at 6 o'clock in the morning and ran. All of us try to overcome challenges everyday whether it is for school, keep a diet, or to stop drinking or smoking, etc.
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ReplyDeleteI think kayla montgomery’s determination to run is very inspiring. Even though she can't run very well she goes on and runs the best she can. If i was her parents i would take pride in her. Another person i admire would be my dad because he has overcome several obstacles throughout his life that are not very easy to do. Yes i have overcome and faced challenges. I'm currently struggling in math. But in the past i was in the middle of trying to pass 6th grade year and i was failing all my classes and i didn't know what to do, so i told ,myself i would pass the year and eventually i did.