Resilience Cafe' - Essay

Ahsaki Hawkins
Tritons
Resilience

“Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but rising every time we fall.” - Confucius

There are many people from the past and from the present with a shared legacy of resilience. My mom, Florence Elopre Hawkins, and Abraham Lincoln are two of them. My mom grew up poor, as did Abraham Lincoln, and when they grew up, they became successful. My mom connects to me, because like her, I try to do my best. Abe Lincoln connects to me because he liked to learn. I like to read books and learn interesting things also.
Abraham Lincoln grew up poor, but although he did, later in his life, he became the 16th president of the United States of America. He said, “I was born February 12, 1809, in Hardin County, Kentucky. My parents were both born in Virginia, of undistinguished families- second class families, perhaps I should say.” Lincoln was the son of a Kentucky frontiersman, and he had to struggle for a living and learning. “…somehow I could read, write, and chipper…but that was all.” Abe Lincoln became a captain in the Black Hawk war, and spent 8 years in the Illinois legislature. He ran against Stephen A. Douglas in 1858 for senator and lost. But he also gained a reputation that got him the Republican nomination for president. When he became president, the south started to secede which was probably a national crisis for him as president. But even though he hated war and the death and destruction of war, he accepted it only in order to save the Union. Some of his greatest accomplishments is when he issued the Emancipation Proclamation and the 13th Amendment that abolished all slavery. Abraham Lincoln is resilient because even though he grew up poor, he was smart, and grew to success, like my mom.
My mom, Florence Elopre Hawkins, grew up poor, but has become successful in life, just like Abraham Lincoln. She was born and grew up in a small home in the Philippines, in a small place called Lutoban, Zemboanguita Negros Oriental. She lived on a farm with her parents, and her 4 sisters and 3 brothers. My mom says, “ We were poor, and when we went to school, we didn’t wear any shoes.” My mom also told me that, “Every time we came home from school, we always talked about our life, and how we were going to study harder.” My mom did study hard, and after elementary she went to 3 different high schools. Foundation University (A place with elementary, Jr. high, and high school.), Dumaguete High school, and Holy Infant Jesus High School for school. Then she went to ITT Tech, and then Manuel L. Quezon University for college. Some years after, my mom became pen pals with my dad who was her sister’s pen pal’s friend. They became friends and 7 years after that they got married in the Philippines, then came to America. In America she started working at Pizza Hut, and slowly worked her way up to becoming the general manager. Her greatest accomplishments was working her way to becoming Training Leader, and Restaurant General Manager at Pizza Hut.
I try to do my best in school to get good grades. I like learning and I love reading. I started reading big chapter books when I was in 1st or 2nd grade. This is important because in the future, I want to be have a successful life like my mom , and accomplish and fulfill my dreams. This affects my life because I have to ready to go on that journey that will fulfill my dreams. This also connects me to my mom and Abraham Lincoln because my mom grew up and became successful and Abraham Lincoln became successful too.
There can be many steps you have to take in order to get to where you want be. It is important to continue this legacy because one must know that just because you may be in the hardest of times, or in a situation where dreams, might just always be dreams; if you work hard, and keep your spirits up, you can rise up, and be whatever you want be. Make the impossible possible, and make a difference.