This month’s teen is Esme.
If someone said the word overcome to you, what would you think of?
To overcome means to conquer a problem or something you are struggling with. To tackle the problem and succeed in doing so.
What is the opposite of overcoming to you?
The opposite of overcoming means to let a problem own you and tie you down. To let what you are struggling with linger inside of you and keep chipping off your confidence, etc.
What famous person do you think overcame well?
I think that Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez overcame well when she ran for the U.S. Representative for New York’s 14th congressional district. She was just a waitress in the Bronx, but she knew she needed to make a difference there. Alexandria had to face Joe Crowley, who had been the representative for 20 years. Crowley didn’t fully advocate for all the people there and she wanted to make changes. After her defeat of Crowley in 2018, she became the youngest congresswoman ever elected. She also used no money from big corporations and held a grassroots campaign to support her statements that, “everyday Americans deserve to be represented by everyday Americans.”
Who is someone you know who has overcome?
Someone I know who has overcome is my mum. Being me and my sisters’ mum is very challenging and doing all the little things every day is overcoming the struggle of taking care of all of us. She has to rush around to take me and my siblings to soccer or track practice every day and barely gets a breath in after school. She still does all of the little things for us, though, and is happy to do it.
What is something you’ve had to overcome?
I had a fear of reading in front of big amounts of people, and then I was selected to read my testimony in front of my church. It was scary to say yes but I overcame it with support from my family, friends, and lots and lots of practice.
