Promt: The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to

later success. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure.
How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?
College Essay
Obstacles people face often help create later success. Everyone has their own setbacks
that they face, whether it be family, friends, boyfriend, or any other obstacle that could
cause someone to break down and lose focus. For me, it was family. My moms senior
year, she got pregnant with me. My dad was not a good boyfriend to her. He always
cheated on her and never hung out with good crowds, even after I was born. My mom
was the one who was always taking care of me, but was also juggling college and when
she was at school my grandparents watched me. I like to think that my mom and I
basically grew up together, since she was still extremely young when she had me and
we had been through a lot together. She has always been my biggest supporter and put
my well being before hers. My dad and I had a good relationship, sometimes. I only
went to his house every other weekend and for a few hours one day a week. But
sometimes, I was very afraid of him. He was very violent when he was angry, and very
easily angered. He never laid a hand on me and I like to think he never would, but that
did not mean I was not afraid of him and his actions. He never really was the dad he
needed to be to me. He always put his needs before mine and always sprung me on my
grandmother if he did not want to take care of me that weekend. I have three sisters,
Laikyn, Carsyn, and Kendal. Kendal is my step-sister. Carsyn is my mom’s daughter,
but we have different dads. When I was eight, my mom and step dad, Mike, got married
and my mom got pregnant with my little sister Laikyn. When my mom and Mike first got
together, I did not like him at all. We did not get along and never saw eye to eye. Before
Mike and Kendal came along,it had just been me, my mom, and my baby sister Carsyn
for a few years. So, in my mind, when Mike and Kendal came into our life they were just
taking my mom and sister away. Mom and Mike would go on dates and hang out
without me, Carsyn and Kendal became closer with each other than Carsyn and I, and I
just felt alone. But, after a few years, me and Mike became very close. He became like
my best friend. He looked out for me like I was his own. But, Kendal never showed any
interest in spending time with him. A part of me feels she was jealous of how close he
and I were, but she never wanted to talk to him. From the beginning, I knew Kendal was
kind of strange and kind of distant minded, but never thought that one day it could
cause our family to fall apart.
When I was in the eighth grade, I told my dad I did not want to come to his house
anymore. The violence and anger had gotten worse and I knew it was time for it to stop.
He yelled at me and told me to tell my mom to come pick me up, so I did. I am in the
eleventh grade now and have not seen him since then. I love my dad and miss him
dearly, but I knew that the mental state he was in he did not need a child to take care of.
It was hurting us both. A year later, he was asked to sign his rights over and he did.
Mike then adopted me for legal reasons. One reason being if for some reason my mom
was in an accident and passed away, I would have to go live with my dad if I did not
have another legal guardian. Mike stepped up to the plate when he did not have to, and
I am forever grateful for him. He will never replace my dad, but he is more of a dad to
me than mine ever was. Kendal and Carsyn both alternate weekends with their other
 parents and my mom and Mike. One Sunday in June of 2022, I rode with Mike to go
pick up Kendal from her mom. It was just a regular Sunday. When we got to CVS to pick
her up, they were not there. We sat there for a few minutes thinking they were just
running late, then Kendal’s mom called Mike. He seemed upset and angry. He got out
of the vehicle so I wouldn’t hear the conversation. When he got back in he said to me,
“We are going to the police station.” I was very confused. He then told me that Kendal
and her mom were refusing to come to meet us, but he did not know why. We went to
the police station to file that her mom was disobeying the court orders they had. If he did
not file this, in court it could have fallen back on him. So, he needed to have it on file for
his sake and safety. Kendal and I did not have a very close relationship, but she was
still my sister. I was very angry and confused. I did not know what was going on. Mike
was very upset, and that made me upset. After this, things were not the same. Mike was
very down and I hated this, our entire family did. Kendal would not talk to him and
refused to see him although he was trying his best to figure out where he went wrong.
After a few months, Kendal would from time to time text him, but still refused to come
visit us. She falsely accused my mom of things that never happened and told my step
dad that our family was fake and that she could not stand to sleep in our house another
night because she felt uncomfortable. Many things were lied about and made up. She
also asked him why she was never told that he adopted me, but she knew. It was a long
process, none of it was a secret. She just wanted to use it against him that he adopted
me, and that was very wrong. He adopted me for my safety. I soon began to really
understand that Kendal was not at all normal. I honestly think lies had just built up in her
mind for so long that she had trained herself to believe them. She had a deep hatred for
us and I did not understand why. Amongst all this, the person who had the hardest time
with Kendal’s leaving was my little sister Carsyn. She and Kendal were very close, and
to see how dangerous and hurtful a person’s words were cut her deep. My parents
found it best that although she and Kendal go to the same school and are in the same
grade, she needed to distance herself until things cooled down. Carsyn agreed with
them. The day of Christmas, Carsyn went to her dad’s house. A week later, it was my
mom’s turn to get her. Carsyn’s dad refused to bring her back and said that Carsyn did
not want to come back and wanted to only come to our house every other weekend. I
then found out that Kendal had been texting Carsyn and swaying her mind to Kendal’s
side and opening Carsyn up to all of the lies she had created. After roughly two weeks,
Carsyn came back. February 8th was the court date and Carsyn was at our house that
week. I woke up that morning to see that my little sister’s door was wide open, her
window was open, and she had cut the screen so she could climb out of her 2 story
window. I knew exactly what had happened and I went into full shock. I did not know
how to react. I was so worried about my little sister’s safety. I walked downstairs to find
my six year old sister Laikyn eating cereal, and my mom was gone and so was her car.
So immediately, I called my step dad not knowing what to do. I told him she had snuck
out and I had no clue where she was, how she was, or if she was safe. He stayed calm
knowing that if he freaked out, so would I. He called my mom to figure out what was
going on and she said everything was okay, and she found Carsyn. Carsyn snuck out of
our house at 3 in the morning. Nobody knew if she was okay or where she was. Her dad
picked her up in the middle of the night and never told my mother she was safe. When
my mom left our house when she found out Carsyn was gone, she called Carsyn’s dad.
He told her she was at his house, so the cops were called and they took my sister out of
her dad’s house and headed to the couthouse. This day, I felt a strong anger, nothing I
have ever felt before. Why would she do this? Why did she want to hurt us? Why did
her father never let my mom know she was safe? But beneath all of the anger, she is
my little sister. I will always be in her corner and have her back and fight for what is in
her best interest. The day after this, I asked her if she wanted to ride with me to go pick
up some pizza. As we were riding, she just started crying. We talked a little bit, and I
began to realize, this was much deeper than I thought. My baby sister was depressed
and was fighting some major battles and I did not know how to help her. Since then, she
has been doing better. Our relationship is stronger and she seems happier. But what
still aches me to think about is Kendal. I love her, but the entire situation uneases me. I
would do anything in the world to have my dad back and to have him care for me the
way Mike cares for his family. But Kendal can just walk away? She can just be olay with
not talking to her dad or seeing him? Kendal can just forget about me and Laikyn and
never talk to us again? Laikyn is six, and she asks about where her sister is, when she's
coming back, and why she left her. Kendal feeds things into Carsyn’s mind, and it
worries me. Kendal is a liar and a manipulator. But one thing I have found peace in is
God. I pray every day for healing in our family. Before this situation, my family didn’t go
to church very often. This situation has taught me that although things get hard, God is
always in control and still blesses us. I will continue to love and pray for both of my
sisters and their personal battles they may face. I will always stay true to my faith and
keep in mind that their hearts and minds are in God’s hands, not mine, and not my
parents. And with that, I find peace and I will continue to work my hardest at everything I
do no matter how hard things get. It has helped me with further successes because no
matter how stressed I am about school or something that is worrying me, sad, or angry,
I feel at ease when I remember how perfect God’s grace is.