Sometimes just seeing resilience can change out mindset and unlock our own resilience. That’s our hope with the Portraits of Resilience series – we hope the stories below will inspire you to tap into your own resilience.
RC Goslee
I would say my resilience comes primary from 2 main sources: 1) being a member of the LGBTQ+ community working in accounting, a primarily straight and cis male dominated field, and 2) being a drag entertainer in an era where we are constantly being attacked by people who have a preconceived notion of us that couldn’t be further from reality. Read more>>
Malcolm Garret
just knowing that God is with me and that everyday he allows me to wake up i have to fulfill my purpose. nothing should get in the way of our purpose and our goals things may interrupt here and there but me knowing Gods will is enough for me to keep fighting in the physical world. Read more>>
Brittany Frederick
I’ve had to be resilient since I was born. I arrived three months premature and was given a 50/50 chance to survive. I had to fight just to stay alive. From there, it’s a trait I’ve carried through to overcome the people who’ve looked down on me and the further health challenges I’ve faced. One of my favorite quotes is from the actor Kiefer Sutherland, who said that “Real human beings given incredible circumstances can do some heroic things.” Read more>>
Shaun Rajah
I draw my resilience from my mother. She is my best friend, mentor, and backbone. Raising all three of us by herself, she instilled in me the belief that I could achieve anything with hard work. Read more>>
Andrea Mercedes Garcia
I was born to young parents, the middle child of six. From a young age I was nothing like my peers or siblings. I could not sit still or shut up. Every other day I was in trouble for something at school and daily at home. It was as if all the things my father and mother hated about themselves they found in me. I did not realize I had ADHD until I was in my twenties. By then I had survived sexual abuse as a child and verbal and physical abuse from my parents. Read more>>
Pilar Castrillo
where do you get your resilience from? Resilience comes from the fact that, when I migrate, I am faced with three fundamental choices: adapt to the new environment, return to my place of origin, or face difficulties to the point of stagnation in the place of arrival. However, dying in migration does not only imply the physical loss of life but being trapped in an existence unable to live fully and develop, unable to express your gifts and abilities. Read more>>
Sahar Elhallak
Being labeled resilient is a complex task. I did not choose to be resilient, it chose me. My Palestinian roots scream resilience, but it’s my circumstances that deserve credit for shaping my resilience. From an early age, I faced trials that would have broken many spirits. But I emerged stronger and unshaken because I didn’t have a choice. Read more>>
Gabe Lopez
I think no matter the career path, we all get knocked down from time to time. These setbacks or hurdles can happen in childhood, too. Sometimes we realize early on the cards we were dealt. I went to a pretty well-to-do elementary school. So many of my classmates came from rich families that owned huge houses, mansions, fancy cars and large properties. I remember wanting piano lessons and that simply wasn’t affordable. Read more>>
Prince Mapp
When I was a kid my father had overdosed of heroine. He was my hero. No matter where he went; shooting galleries, abandoned houses, other women houses, etc., I always wanted to be around him. When he died, a part of me died. As I grew, I had become this angry kid who was always hurting. I sought attention eventually beginning to get into tons of trouble. Read more>>
Brooke Westlake
I believe my resilience comes from my early age of learning to rely on myself. I learned young because my mother was a single mom with three kids. My brother and sister are twins, and they were from my mom’s first marriage. They are also 7 and half years older than me. My mother remarried my father and had me. Read more>>
Nir Guzinski
My resilience comes from my discomfort with failure, my innate sense of hopefuleness, and from seeing my parents journey. It may also be due to my perfectionism. When I fail at something, which has happened on numerous occasions, or if I don’t attain the result I had hoped for, I get hard on myself and ruminate for a while, until it pushes me to get angry and do something about it. Read more>>
Tiffany Murphy
Resilience, such a profound word. I was completely ignorant of all aspects of resilience until I lived through the darkness. Darkness looks and feels different for all of us, but still has that common denominator, change and pain. Many emotions, loss, tears and anguish I carried myself through. As I walked blindly through the darkness I was given space to begin practice of yoga. Read more>>
Sav Madigan
I’m a full-time musician, but I also went to school for biology and I wrote / published a paper on biological altruism – AKA, are we hard-wired for altruism, why did it evolve, and can other animals besides people perform acts of altruism at a cost to themselves with seemingly no reward? One thing I realized in my research – sort of an epiphany moment, and I would go on to write songs about it – was that our resilience as people comes from leaning on each other. Read more>>
McKenna Garrison
I believe resiliency largely stems from the personal experiences we’ve been faced with. As a child, it was subconsciously the only option I knew. As an adult, it’s an active choice. I was born with a kidney deformity & dysfunction that put me on antibiotics for the first two years of my life. I had to grow up pretty fast with regular doctor appointments, unpleasant scans, tests, and a few surgeries by the age of 10. Read more>>
Sophie Wong
My resilience mostly come from having a strong support system. I’ve been blessed with a close knit family of great minds and experiences that I can always depend on to talk to if needed. I also believe my resilience comes from my own ability to maintain a positive attitude and stay grounded in difficult situations. Read more>>
Brandon Lee Anthony
My resilience stems from my faith. Basically i know that the Most high never puts any more pressure on you than what you can handle. Obstacles are just a test and process you have to go through to reap the good. Read more>>
AF Junior
I get my resilience from my mother. She’s not just a source of inspiration; she’s the bedrock of my determination. Her unwavering support has been the driving force behind my pursuit of dreams, no matter how lofty they may seem. Growing up, I witnessed her extraordinary journey. Hailing from a humble small town, my mother faced challenges that would have deterred many. Read more>>
Helen Marray-Finlay
In numerous ways, I see resilience as an acquired skill that evolves. Personally, my journey towards building resilience spans four decades. It certainly didn’t happen overnight. Learning from others has been crucial for my development. I observe how others handle situations, take those aspects that I believe work, and use them to build my resilience. Read more>>
Karmel Bortoleti
I never let fear gets in the way. I always had a strong belief in myself, and I stay on the path that I am on even in the face of discouragement. Fear causes us to question ourselves, and some people in our lives can cause us to cultivate doubt. “I don’t know if resilience can be taught. But, we can choose to be resilient and it takes a good amount of faith. Believe in yourself cause If you don’t believe in yourself, you can’t expect anyone else to believe in you. Read more>>
Jean Marie Loscalzo
I would say my resilience is formed from many parts. Some parts were inherited by my ancestors, my grandfather for example came from Italy to NYC as an orphan in 1909, he built a life for himself with nothing but his will and his dreams, and from that resilience- I was born. Other parts were cultivated on my own. Read more>>
Elizabeth Frank
I love this question because it really makes me think about the relationship between resilience and creativity. Growing up I faced a lot of challenges. My mother was very ill. We moved a lot. I went to 5 different elementary schools. By the time I reached high school my mother had committed suicide. So my upbringing was fraught. Read more>>
Tylynn Griffin
I grew up watching my mother and father work very hard to provide for me and other family members. There was never a question about something getting done, it just happened. The strength and perseverance accompanied with faith in God poured over to me. When I start to feel weak or burdened, I lean on Christ and the lessons I’ve learned from my parents and grandparents. I know that with Him, I can push on. Read more>>
Jesscy Dean
100% my mama. I was raised in poverty by a single mother who was the very definition of resilience. She always made the best of every situation, never complained & taught me the value of a life well-lived. We never had much, but she always made it feel like we had the world. She was a true Renaissance woman who could do everything – run a chainsaw, build a home, train a horse, disappear in the backcountry, swing dance with the best of them, craft wild food, banter, and LOVE. Read more>>
Christalyne Causey
I think it comes from the way I was raised. My parents were extremely young when they had me and both come from poverty. I watched them work hard, struggle, but never give up. My maternal grandmother helped to raise me as well. As an immigrant, she came from nothing, but taught me the importance of education, believing it would be my ticket to a happier, healthier life. Read more>>
Stella Grinfeld
My resilience, I believe, is deeply rooted in my journey as a Ukrainian immigrant, an only child who came to Canada thirty years ago. This journey was not just a geographical shift but a transformative experience that taught me the essence of resilience. Growing up in a new country, grappling with the challenges of integration and cultural adaptation, I quickly learned that resilience is not inherent; it’s cultivated through experiences and the choices we make in response to those experiences. Read more>>
Alice Powers
I have been at this writing thing for a long time. Forty years ago when my three children were babies I was determined to keep writing. My husband had a demanding job and traveled often for work. First thing every day I made a list of tasks that might propel me forward in this writing life — despite the dishes piling up in the sink and the laundry and the carpools. Read more>>
Melissa Mattie
Whenever someone hears my story, I always get the same response. “How are you not in jail, hooked on drugs, or dead? Because people with your story, never make it.” Believe it or not, I am always happy to hear this response, because its a constant reminder of who I could have become if I had listened to everyone in my life telling me I will never amount to anything or ever go anywhere in life and how I took that as fuel for my fire and said, “watch me.” Read more>>
Saphera Peters
In 2023, I decided to make “resilience” my word of the year, mainly because I took the leap into doing art full time. Going all-in meant putting myself out there, hustling for clients, and trying to build my brand. I knew that with more exposure would come more rejection, but I was so hell-bent on making my dream happen that I couldn’t let it knock me down for long. The determination to turn my artistic passion into a full-blown reality became a part of who I am. Read more>>
Nicholas Walton
My resilience comes from my photography passion – finding beauty and hope in the details and the bigger picture, even when things get tough. Continuously focusing on what i love! Read more>>
Gabriella Maenza
Starting in the event industry at the age of 15 truly empowered me to learn and withstand so many components that can come up when planning and executing any type of event. Read more>>
Zabreon President
My resilience stems from life’s crossroads, where I’ve had to choose between surrendering to hardship or standing tall, extracting wisdom from setbacks, and wholeheartedly welcoming whatever comes my way. Each hurdle becomes a step forward in my journey of growth and self-discovery. Read more>>
Jayne Nakata
My resilience comes from the challenges that I have put myself through – for example taking on the challenge to move to Japan more than 20 years ago before we had iPhones and Google translate. Or from those challenges that have absolutely rocked my world and made me wonder, why me universe? Those kinds of challenges we do not overcome with some toxic positivity. Read more>>
Jessie Santiago
My resilience stems from the intricate tapestry of my identity as a queer woman of color. It’s woven with threads of strength, perseverance, and the unwavering determination to thrive in a world that often seeks to diminish or erase individuals like me. Read more>>
Rick Graves
Ever since I was a kid, I was pretty determined in having things the way I wanted them. I think my so-called stubbornness was really just my inner resilience showing up early and undeveloped. Through my teenage years and into my twenties, I came to realize that what some call being ‘hard-headed’ is actually a valuable asset; and what I believe is an inherent trait to resiliency. It’s about seeing every challenge not as a dead end, but a new beginning. Read more>>
Mishele Arciniega Lopez
Resilience, to me, is about pursuing my goals despite external challenges. I believe that destiny has a way of aligning opportunities with individuals, a notion that helps me interpret rejections as redirections rather than personal setbacks. Criticism and differing viewpoints are seen through the lens of individual perspective; understanding that others’ experiences don’t define my path empowers me to remain unaffected by them. Read more>>
Fred Jay
Encountering obstacles is inevitable. No matter who you are or where you’re from, it’s safe to say that you’ll encounter one in some form or fashion. I’m no exception. What stands between any of us and our own destiny, is resilience. I began developing mine at the young age of 13. I had an older brother, of whom I looked up to. Read more>>
Truth Chiles
My resilience can be traced back to my mother; one of a long line of women who overcame political, racial, and socio-economic injustices to usher in opportunities for myself and many more to come. Read more>>
Edith Johnson
Resilience has been a buzz word lately. It means a lot to so many people. and to me it means recongizing where I can from and how I am able to carry on. I am Native American and to say that i have witness resilience is an understatement. Read more>>
Kristen Ryan
Navigating Life’s Challenges with Resilience and Love Adversity is a common experience we all face in life, and often our perception of those experiences determines the level of difficulty we encounter. It is our ability to overcome those challenges that fosters resilience. For me, it took a while to learn how to move past negative emotions that no longer served me. Read more>>
Lauren B.
My resilience is deeply rooted in a combination of personal experiences, the unwavering support of my family and friends, and the challenges I’ve faced throughout the journey of building Lauren B. Beauty. Each obstacle and setback has been a learning opportunity, teaching me the value of persistence, adaptability, and the importance of maintaining a clear vision. Read more>>
David Temple
I suppose my resilience began at an early age. As one of four children, there was plenty of competition in our family, both for space, time and attention. As I began developing in early childhood, and given I wasn’t particularly exceptional at sports, I learned to fit in other ways. The biggest way I fit in was my humor. Read more>>
Elaine Richardson, CMP
My mom. My parents were divorced when I was 18 months old, so for most of my early years, it was just myself and my mother. For a long time, she didn’t have a college education. So she was going to nursing school at night, while I stayed slept on the sofas of family friends. In many ways, it was an unsettled childhood, but she worked very hard to make a life for us. Read more>>
Jamela Marshall, CHt
Simple God. God is within me, I cannot fail. Well the scripture actually says, “God is within her she will not fail” Psalms 46:5, but you have to make it personal. I hold this word in my heart and it keeps me going. I’ve been through many things in life and no matter what I just know that there is a greater purpose for me; knowing this pushes me through the hard times. Read more>>
