[A] Describe a setback that you have faced. How did you resolve it? How did the outcome affect you? If something similar happened in the future, how would you react?
Close knitted family with Christian values, sound financial background and a wholesome social life; I lead an ordinary life. While the setback I had faced may seem trivial to others, it had nevertheless the greatest impact on me. I learnt more about myself and thus, matured much more emotionally.
At the age of ten, my father bought me my first tennis racket as an introduction to the sport, getting me hooked on to physical activities.
Thereafter, I started with tennis lessons, joined the school team and trained on my own spare time. After winning several tournaments, my confidence and determination to excel grew. Playing tennis not only improved my physical fitness but also conditioned my mind. Mentally, it has sharpened my reflexes and inculcated decisiveness as split second decisions are critical to the game. Furthermore, being in the school team also nurtured the importance of sportsmanship in me.
However, while training for a tournament three years back, a searing pain ripped through my left calf. Subsequent diagnosis revealed stress fractures on my left shin which required months to heal.
The specialist advised against aggravating the injury and I was devastated by his diagnosis. It meant not being able to participate in the single activity I was most passionate about during that period of my life.
. Such fractures are rare and I berated myself with self-tormenting questions like "why me?" and "why now?" My guilty conscience was a huge burden, since I would be letting my fellow team-mates down, leaving them to face that year's tournament without me. The frustration only escalated.
Initial efforts to ignore the problem merely compounded as I was confined to inactivity and had plenty of time to reflect. This resulted in self-pity, inconsolable grief and distress.
As time passed, with the indispensable support of friends and teammates, I gradually began to accept the harsh reality of my injury and began to focus on the mental preparation required for the next tournament. Given the less than ideal circumstances, I took a step back and focused on 'improving' the non-physical aspects of my game. Approaching my temporary handicap from this new perspective, I worked on the psychological areas and on-court strategies that consequently raised the standard of my game.
A blessing in disguise, the 'setback' gave me time away from the court to appreciate the significance of patience in the game of tennis. This was the one life experience that first taught me as a person to be patient and take extra steps back for a clearer view of the situation. Blindly surging forward works only to a certain extent, and if overdone, would simply mean falling into the typecast of the 'rat race' that all of us try to avoid.
This rough patch not only taught me to be patient, it also taught me to take a step back
at times and avoid rushing into things. I began to recognize that it is not the setbacks that matter in life; it is the way we choose to react to them that do. The recovery and healing process has to start soon after the self-pity-wallowing period, and this would pave the way for stronger characters, heavily laced with perseverance and courage to face future obstacles in life's journey.
Thanks for the comments!
Actually, I rather like the essay. The setback isn't as harsh as some I've read about in these forums, but it meant a lot to you, and you learned something very important from it. You have some solid, specific details in there, too. A couple of minor things:
While the setback I had faced may seem trivial to others, it had nevertheless the greatest impact on me.
Don't start out by apologizing for what you are going to write.
I gradually began to accept the harsh reality
Leave out the "harsh" here. It isn't necessary, and as you pointed out, it might seem like hyperbole to some.
