write a personal narrative that describes a challenge you faced
Answers
Well, the biggest challenge I ever faced was alcoholism. I probably became addicted after the death of my husband when I was very traumatized. Active alcoholism continued for another 15 years and nearly cost me my work and my life.
I entered rehab and got a year of sobriety, then relapsed. Not for want of working hard at recovery - I was a dedicated AA member but in a very isolated location. I actually changed jobs to move to a city which had a large AA meeting. It took six years of relapses but eventually I did get the program (so relapsers should never give up!) and now have 25 years of continuous sobreity without a single drink of alcohol.
The disease is incurable. I am still alcoholic because the physical abnormalities which cause the disease are still there. I cannot metabolize alcohol normally. But I am in remission - if I don’t drink I don’t experience the effects of alcoholism. My life depends on avoiding that first drink, just like a person who is allergic to bee stings must avoid being stung.
“Describe A Challenge You Overcame”
“Early in my life, I felt invincible. Rightfully so, I think we all do when we’re young. But one horrible day, I received a phone call that one of my family members had passed away. This is the type of phone call none of us wish to get. It occurred with a family member who I felt was young. Not much older than me. We dealt with the situation at hand. But afterward, it made me really put into perspective how I was living my life. Today, I choose to live life to the fullest, every day. That means enjoying my work, enjoying the people around me, trying to create the best environment and contribute to society.”
“Early in my career, I was allowed to run a small business. We had outside investors and a great opportunity in front of us. I won’t go into the full story. But what I can tell you is that my communication skills at that time prevented me from ever moving that business and opportunity forward in a meaningful way. Since then, I’ve strived to work with coaches to ensure my communication skills are always in development. Communication is the way we connect with others. I constantly want to be improving it.”