This article isn’t about anyone except the people here at Pasco High School. I’ve noticed that many people have struggled with battles and I wanted to bring more awareness to the fact that many people have overcome some really difficult things. So I went around and interviewed some lovely people. I was hoping maybe someone reading this who happened to be going through something similar or needs a pick-me-up would know that things get better. Or they could read this article and know that challenges do happen and that there is another side.

An interview with Howie:

• What was one of the biggest challenges you’ve overcome?

“Life at home, my parents got divorced when I was 10 and my dad started to shut me out i had to grow up fast and it was hard having to balance school sports and taking care of my little sister while my mom worked”

• Are you upset that you went through that challenge or are you grateful for the way that it impacted you and changed you as a person?

“At the time I was upset, yes. But looking back at it, it was probably one of the biggest things that shaped my life so now I would say I’m grateful.”

• What do you wish you could’ve done differently?

“Realized it wasn’t my fault, and stepped up more”

• Did anyone help you along the way?

“My mom was always there for me whenever I needed her,  but my coach was probably the biggest impact he stepped up and was/is like a father to me”

• What’s one quote/saying you like to add to this article to encourage others?

“There will be obstacles. there will be doubters. there will be mistakes. but with hard work, there are no limits.” – Michael Phelps.

An interview with Cindel:

• What was one of the biggest challenges you’ve overcome?

“The biggest challenge I’ve faced and still face is learning how to doubt my doubts before I doubt my faith. I can be very quick to emotional turbulence in tough social situations, and I tend to question everything and seize up at the thought of making important decisions, which stops me from healing and making growth. I also have a lot of academic pressure from my mom, I had to repeat the 1st grade due to challenges from my ADD, and she still doesn’t think I’m as academically competent as my older sisters even though I’m balancing more things than they did at my age with my disability and have a better cumulative GPA than they did at my grade”

• Are you upset that you went through that challenge or are grateful for the way that it impacted you and changed you as a person?

“I think repeating the grade helped me a lot, it gave me time to nudge my brain into functioning proficiently at tasks, and then progress at a faster rate than my peers and helped me to make more friends, but the beliefs my mom still holds onto turns into her projecting that ill fail. So it is something I still struggle with a bit, in that each assignment HAS to have a high grade so that I can prove I’m good enough. For dealing with challenging emotions, I feel like I’ve learned a lot since then and can see things and other difficult situations in a more compassionate light. I wish the main problem that caused it didn’t happen, but it helped me grow into the person I am today so if anything I’m grateful for how it shaped me and my empathy.”

• What do you wish you could’ve done differently?

“getting medication or even diagnosed for my ADD probably would’ve been great. I’ve been without any outside medical help but it’s allowed me to develop a working system that isn’t dependent on drugs so there’s that. I feel like I handled the difficult situation well though, it was hard for a long while, but with time, and love, it’s gotten a lot better. if I could go back though I’d treat myself with more compassion and gentleness, I wasted a lot of time focusing on the pain and not the healing process.”

• Did anyone help you along the way?

“I turn to God a lot, he helped me through so much of my emotions and pain, and sometimes when I was worried about a specific test or question, a prayer about it helped me find a path toward the answer. having my partner (handsome boy Howie) with me is always a source of comfort, he’s been a pillar of support and strength for me through all my challenges, and never leaves me to deal with things alone.”

• What’s one quote/saying or something that you would like to put into the article to help others?

“Isaiah 35:4 – Say to them that are of a fearful heart, be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompense; he will come and save you.”

An interview with Josephine:

• What was one of the biggest challenges you’ve overcome?

“One of the biggest challenges was probably trying to make friends going into 7th grade and 9th grade.”

• Are you upset that went through that challenge or are you grateful for the way that it impacted you and changed you as a person?

“I’m not upset that I had to learn how to make friends because it has been a very useful tool with work and just for my everyday life but I’m grateful for the effects of it cause now I have friends that I have honestly never thought id leave and love them all.”

• What do you wish you could’ve done differently? “

I wish would have had more confidence when trying to get to know people cause the main problem was my lack of confidence.”

• Are you upset that you went through that challenge or are you grateful for the way that it impacted you and changed you as a person?

“Grateful for the way it’s impacted me”

• Did anyone help you along the way?

“Mainly my parents just encouraged me to try and make friends and my friends by being accepting of who I am helped.”

• What One quote/saying or something that you would like to put into the article to help others?

“Don’t be discouraged, it will get better and if you feel lost don’t be ashamed to reach out”

An interview with Leeah:

• What was one of the biggest challenges you’ve overcome?

“One of my biggest challenges is balancing my personal life with school, just because my personal life is so much more than it should be my age. It’s hard to focus only on school and do my best in school when I have many at-home challenges that I’ve come to the school for but haven’t had much help with.”

• Are you upset that went through that challenge or are you grateful for the way that it impacted you and changed you as a person?

“I’m upset because it cost me my childhood. It introduced me to adult experiences and choices at a young age. However, it did teach me a lot of lessons and gave me a much different view of my life and the ability to put myself in other people’s shoes.”

• What do you wish you could’ve done differently?

“I wish that I had been less afraid of the petitioner.”

• Did anyone help you along the way?

“Sure, but not one of them that stuck with me was blood-related. it’s hard to say family is supposed to help you, but it was the opposite and worse. the few people that did help me were people I hadn’t been around in years. I’m very thankful for them.”

• What One quote/saying or something that you would like to put into the article to help others?

“Support can come from places you least expect it. so don’t expect support in places you expect it to come naturally.”