Obstacles

From reading The Book of Negroes thus far, it is clear that Aminata faced many challenges and obstacles during her fight for freedom. In every person’s lifetime he/she will experience some from of obstacle. One particular obstacle that I have had to overcome stands out in my mind. It happened about three years ago when my number one passion was swimming. For me swimming was not just a sport but also a way of life. I trained nine times a week and worked very hard at every practice. However, there came a time in my swimming career when I no longer improved my times. I worked as hard as an ox but my results did not show for it. All my teammates were gradually getting faster than me. A year passed and my times were still not improving. I did not know why. After every swim meet I would feel disappointed and ashamed of myself. I wanted to give up. However, I knew that at some point in everyone’s lives we all fail at something. Therefore, I persevered and continued to give my best effort. My perseveration worked in my favor as eventually I began to improve my times. I went on to qualify for my country’s national swim team. This obstacle in my life taught me that no matter how difficult circumstances get to never give up. You never know what is around the corner. This is a lesson that I have keep with me in everything I do.