Overcoming adversity · Life School w/ Dr. Mark

Overcoming adversity

Roughly 21 months ago I graduated from Purdue University. While I felt proud of my accomplishment in completing my bachelors degree. I had no sense of direction as I decided not to pursue grad school for school counseling. My summer went by I went to Florence and Rome for a graduation present. But come August, I was still stuck in college mode… and quite simply had to find a job.

Sadly from August 2024-May 2025 I was jobless outside of umpiring softball and baseball on some week nights here and there. I applied to jobs in HR, data analytics, recruiting, and even some business type jobs hoping and praying that I would land somewhere, often times getting ghosted.

Roll around to March 2025 I landed my 2nd legitimate interview in a recruiting company where I would be onboarding newcomers. I got to the 3rd round and on April 2nd 2025 my life changed. I did not get that job and got nothing related to that job…

Instead on September 24th 2024 I was studying to become a special education teacher and was transitioning my psychology degree to an online teaching program called teachers of tomorrow. Sadly I put it on hold from November- April as my family felt I wouldn’t make enough money instead of going where my heart wanted to I went where my brain went and went back into the job search but in reality I had no plan except wanting a job which turned into a dead end really quick. Going back to April 2nd I was sick of being ghosted by companies as it caused me so much loneliness as most of my peers were off in the work world. And I finally put my foot down and said I’m going into education and working with the future. Which in my current position I am an instructional assistant in special education and the reward is greater than the paycheck as I’m helping people day in and day out.

Consistently showing up to a study session to study for my two teaching exams on March 27th and funny enough April 2:) is crucial to my success. One thing I hope others can take away from this is most people settle for average. Simply put people want to live a simple life and settle down and not take that extra step. I live by many standards but there are 3 I go by:

When you do work/studying/working out, whatever it may be complete the specific task plus one more. Often times people hit a PR and quickly say I’m done, I want to move on and do something else. Work harder and get better every single day.

2 Finish what you start is by an author named Peter Hollins got this book over the holidays and one of the key things I learned from him is how motivation and discipline are 2 different things. Motivation adds extra fuel while discipline is enrooted with consistency and avoiding procrastination at all costs.

3 Lastly I live by a quote that I was reading up on last year during March madness “If you are the best in the gym, you need to find a new gym.” As an umpire, future teacher, and former athlete this is so true because putting yourself in comfortable environments doesn’t show any mental toughness or perseverance. Adverse situations may show that you might be the youngest fella in the room but you consistently keep showing up and getting after it.

If you made it this far, thank you, but now it’s your turn for those reading this. How do you overcome adversity when your brain is stuck and the road is long to stay consistent day in and day out even when you don’t feel like doing that important thing which may ultimately accomplish your life goals?

5 comments