Melody Chandler
Winston Churchill described tenacity by saying, “Success is the ability to move from failure to failure without losing momentum” (Bureau). Though I have always had tenacity, it has not always been of an academic nature. I believed people with my type of background were not “college material.” Being kidnapped at two, put in foster homes, and having a family riddled with drug and alcohol abuse didn’t put me in the “most likely to succeed” category, but thankfully, it’s never too late to live happily ever after, and I wanted the happily ever after.
Later, I married a wonderful man, a preacher, and I helped him to finish his Master’s degree. It was then that my burning desire for a college education began. Unfortunately, I was in my thirties, with four children (one who was born blind), a youth group, and a farm. Still, I enrolled at HCC, and every assignment had my best effort. Now, I am proud and still shocked to say I am graduating with a 4.0 GPA. Though, I still do not believe myself to be the most brilliant of people, I know I am tenacious, and tenacity is what found my happily ever after.