This show focuses on being an overcomer. Today, I talk about challenges and obstacles.
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Hello, you're tuned into The Inquisitor. I'm your host, Dr. Tanya Renee Lee. Today I'm going to be talking about challenges and obstacles. I'm revisiting a personal statement I wrote when I was applying for a PhD program in human science. As many of you know, I went on to get a doctorate in ministry. We often shift focus when we enroll in schools. But I thought this statement was interesting and it's still applicable in my life. Now I want to read to you what I wrote. One of the biggest, most tragic incidents in my life was being diagnosed as having scoliosis at the age of 11. I was in the fifth grade at the time. At that time, Lawton, Oklahoma did not have the necessary medical personnel or facilities to treat me. My mother and I drove to Brooks Army Hospital in San Antonio, Texas to begin my treatment. We only took one pair of additional clothing, thinking we were going back to Oklahoma the next day. Instead, I was hospitalized and put in a cast that extended from my neck to my waist. I wore the cast for approximately two months. All sorts of rumors and gossip floated around the school around me. Some children laughed and others said I'd broken my neck. The stress brought on by the situation, I turned into a challenge and became one of the best students in the class. I was later put into a brace that I wore for a year and a half, only able to come out of it for one hour each day. It felt like torture sometimes. Sometimes the brace would come loose and pinch my neck, causing extreme pain. It is said that we all experience some type of pressure in our life. Having been exposed to pressure and stress at such an early age has given me the strength to pursue my goals. Although problems may arise, I have learned to focus on my possibilities and not my limit. My sixth grade year, the doctor decided that one leg was shorter than the other, and that an operation was needed to lengthen the right leg. I feared not being able to finish the sixth grade and go to junior high the following year. I was determined to finish. Upon returning from the hospital, I insisted upon going back to school. My parents allowed me to go back. Sometimes my leg would start hurting in class and the teacher would tell me to go home. I would go home very seldom, most of the time. I would stay. While at Central State University, I became involved in student activities as well as pursuing my studies. The second semester of my freshman year I became a student senator. Being a student senator gave me the opportunity to provide suggestions for improvement and to work with other people. I also joined two Greek organizations while at Central State University that also helped me to learn how to work with others in a social setting and afforded me the opportunity to help serve the community. Also, I served as a Black Peer Counselor my senior year in college. The purpose of the program was to develop and maintain social and scholastic relationships between black students. I also, in that role, assisted students with academic problems and provided techniques on how to study. My greatest impact on my life have been my parents. My parents afforded me the opportunity to pursue my educational goals. If it had not been for my parents, I would not have obtained the educational status I achieved. Experiences in the area of education and public administration investigation has piqued my interest to learn more about people, understanding people, and how it relates to human sciences and the ministry. Friends, that is a glimpse of what I wrote. I wanted to share that with you, to let you know today that whether whatever obstacle you're facing, and I have faced others since that time, oh my god, in my 63 years of living, I face a lot of challenges and defeats, victories, failures, success. But I've never given up. And you can't give up either, whatever you're aspiring to do. I think that victory and defeat are something we can learn from. And it's always great when you stick it out and taste that sweet success of victory. So whatever you're facing today, go for it. Keep striving, keep believing you can do it. Thank you for tuning in today. I hope this show has been a blessing to you. And this show is made possible by my school, the Lawton Fort Sill Graduate School of Theology. And we are now enrolling. We offer degrees from the associates level all the way to the doctoral level, also certificates in different fields. Please stop by sometime. We're in Sheridan Road in Lawton, Oklahoma. And see us. We would be glad to meet you and tell you more about the school. And we'll get you enrolled. Thank you for tuning in. God bless you and keep you as my prayer.
