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.
Indira Somani
I am from Springfield, IL, home of President Abraham Lincoln, the heart of the farmland, but not a suburb of Chicago. My parents came to the U.S. as international students from India in the early 60s, before the U.S. removed its quota on how many Asians (including Indians) were allowed in the country. Although I was born in Pittsburgh, Springfield will always be my hometown. I get my resilience from the ability to adapt to a different culture and people growing up in Springfield in the 70s, a somewhat rural community, where people thought India was a land of snake charmers. Read more>>
Carey Fullilove
In 2015, my little sister passed away unexpectedly at the age of 19. This was the most painful experience of my life. Navigating personal grief can be incredibly challenging, yet it fosters resilience in profound ways. Grief forces you to confront deep emotions—sadness, anger, and loss. Read more>>
Regan Johnson
Life as a military wife, mother of three, actress, and YouTube creator is full of challenges. Balancing family, career, and personal passions can be overwhelming, but I’ve learned to lean on three key pillars: family, friendships and faith. My husband’s unwavering support and the love of our children keep me grounded, while my sister provides perspective and reminds me to stay true to myself. Their presence motivates me to push through life’s toughest moments. Read more>>
Brandon Kellum
In the parched heart of Phoenix, Arizona, where the desert sprawls like an endless challenge, Brandon Kellum has carved his name into the arid landscape of modern hardcore music. It is a name synonymous with raw energy, resilience, and the refusal to bend beneath the weight of life’s heaviest burdens. As the frontman of American Standards and The Hostage Situation, Kellum’s journey from the blistering heat of Phoenix to stages across the world is one marked not only by musical prowess but by a profound endurance shaped by personal trials that tested his spirit. Read more>>
Spencer Young
I’m incredibly proud of my lineage and the people who raised me. My grandfather — Jack Olsen — founded our business, and he taught me that no matter your background, the American dream is always within reach. Read more>>
Dawn Webb
My resilience came from my parents. I grew up in a 2-parent household where both of my parents worked very hard to keep a roof over our heads and food in the refrigerator. My mom worked as a caregiver for a few Jewish families, raising their kids, cleaning their houses. My dad worked a a truck driver in Detroit. After several years, my mom started working for the Federal government during a time when it was not common for Africian-American to work outside of the home. I recall the stories my mom shared where she had to deal with racisim on a daily basis and she overcame them with her head held high. Read more>>
Willie Bell
I learned resilience early. I learned it from my mother. She is resilient and I learned to behave in a manner that displayed resilience which afforded me success. In spite of having low socioeconomic status, my mother provided all needs. In spite of what obstacles, she faced, she carried herself in a manner that displayed grace, and we were provided for in a manner that we (her children) did not know or understand that we were poor. Coming from a small “one horse” town, the majority were in the same situation, yet I knew I did not want to get “trapped” in that small community. Read more>>
Neila Charles
I got my resilience from my culture honestly, As a Haitian woman, born and raised, I know about the Pure strength that my people always had. Remembering where I am from gives me strength for sure. Read more>>
Marlee Bruno M.m.s., Pa-c
Resilience is something I had to cultivate within myself very early in life. By the age of four, I was already acutely aware that I was born into a “sink or swim” situation. My father was a drug addict who lost his battle with substances when I was just five, and my mom was an ICU nurse working nearly every day to make ends meet, while also struggling with her own mental health issues. I’m one of five children, and by the time I was seven, my mom had already been through five marriages–and divorces. Read more>>
Janet Frank
I come from a long line of resilient people. My paternal grandfather was a Russian immigrant. Both his children earned graduate degrees and entered helping professions, despite the hardship of their early childhoods. Read more>>
Carey Lynn Marr
I had a rare disease when I was younger that lasted around four years with the repercussions lasting much longer. It hospitalized me quite a few times and separated me from my peers at a pivotal time in those developmental years. I think for a kid who was already highly imaginative and creative, that time alone definitely augmented my creativity and the path that I’m now on. I learned early on how lucky I really was, despite the health challenges, and I promised myself when I got better that I wouldn’t take anything for granted. That each day and person and new idea were so valuable and that as long as I could wake up and walk around and dance and write and create, everything would be more than alright. Read more>>
Nathelie Zetrenne-norman
My resilience is in my DNA. As a Haitian woman, my ancestors were the blue print for resilience. That resilience was not only passed down to me but modeled for me by my family and others in the Caribbean community. My family has instilled work ethic and determination into me. It became the foundation for the path I walk. Read more>>
Lis Anna-langston
“It is not merely enough to have the ability to be persistent, you must also have the ability to start over.” F. Scott Fitzgerald. I read that quote a long time ago and it always stayed with me. This idea that we must not just persist forward with blinding momentum but also have the strength and ability to abandon the old and start over. F. Scott is one of my favorite writers and his work is infused with this theme, this idea that we must try again. Resilience is defined as bouncing back or recovering quickly and in art I think this idea is huge. Read more>>
Kathleen Reyes
The first examples of resilience I encountered came from my parents when we immigrated to the U.S. I was young, merely a witness to our everyday life, but now, as an adult, I look back and recognize the sacrifices they made to establish a new life and create better opportunities for me. My mother attended school at night while working during the day. She saved money to invest, and I vividly remember living a frugal lifestyle as a child. We never tried to keep up appearances. Read more>>
Kendull Anderson
I’ve been through many things in life and I never let them get me down for too long. One of the most traumatic experiences I’ve had was losing my mother at the age of 6, being so young there was a lot I didn’t understand, but I could feel the hurt. I’ve also struggled with mental illness as I’ve gotten older. But one thing that has kept me afloat is my faith in God. I know that everything will eventually work out in my favor. I know there is an Entity that loves us and is constantly working the good and bad in our favor. Read more>>
Claudia Serea
I learned to be resilient from my parents. I grew up in Romania under the communist dictatorship of Nicolae Ceausescu. My father was a chemical engineer, and my mother taught middle school Romanian and French. But my father was also a former political prisoner who was only 18 at the time of his arrest, just after graduating high school, in January 1958. He was sentenced to 8 years for a poem the Securitate, the former secret police, found in his notebook. He served 5 years out of the 8 in various Soviet-style prisons and forced labor camps, where he survived by sheer willpower, despite the constant hunger, beatings, and hard labor designed to kill the prisoners. Read more>>
Deb
For some reason. I have a large ability to bounce back from hard times that could break some others down, I had an extensive list of challenges thrown at me in my life. It’s unfortunate, but on the flip side, it provided me with great strength. I have stories that are actually so wild that I always think that I would love to sit down with Tim Burton, one of my favorite directors and animators, because he could have a field day with some of my encounters. I also know that I was born with resilience because growing up I was very close with my grandmother who was a tough lady, she was a holocaust surviver. Read more>>
Selena Alexander
As a floral designer, I draw my resilience from the creative process itself. Working with flowers reminds me of nature’s ability to grow and thrive despite changing conditions. The challenges of running a small business, like tight deadlines or unpredictable markets, are balanced by the joy I get from seeing a finished arrangement bring happiness to someone. My passion for design and the support from my clients and community also give me the motivation to keep going, even when things get tough. Read more>>
Samie White
Similarly to many who have developed resilience, I’ve endured challenges in life. Kelly Clarkson couldn’t have reiterated German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche better in her song, “What Doesn’t Kill You.” No matter how challenging, our experiences make us stronger. I was in a serious relationship and marriage for ten years altogether. That relationship had many good and bad attributes. I entered the relationship at age 19, nearly a child at heart. I was working as an exotic dancer and attending a 4-year college. I’d experienced traumas that led to codependent tendencies and unhealthy coping strategies. Read more>>
G-su Paek
I feel like I’ve always been the odd man out.
My upbringing: Born in South Korea but moved to Brownsville, TX at the age of two. So ethnically very Korean and raised in a Korean household but within a primarily Hispanic community. I believe the term is “Third Coast Kid”. There were very few Korean families in the area, let alone many who had children my age. My parents were busy running a business and didn’t have the time or knowledge to help assimilate their children into this strange new culture. I had to learn how to defend myself and quickly learned that if I tried to go the physical route, I’d be fighting the rest of my life. So I learned how to be shrewd. How to make friends. How to talk my way out of situations. To improvise and adapt. Read more>>
Richard Huante
I inherited my resilience from both my mother and grandmother, who have since passed on. I credit them both for raising me, and they did so despite having their share of hardships throughout their lives. Although sometimes things were difficult, they managed to keep me fed and clothed as a child. My Mom and Nana were as resilient as they come! Read more>>
Marisel Pacheco Schweitzer
I draw my resilience from a deep sense of adventure and an unwavering commitment to personal growth. I thrive on setting goals, tackling challenges, and pushing beyond my comfort zone to achieve the dreams I set for myself. My family, especially my husband and children, are a constant source of strength. They inspire me daily with their perseverance, their pursuit of self-improvement, and their dedication to service. Read more>>
Zo Frampton
I think resilience is a superpower. I tried a lot of different things before I committed to being an artist full-time and most of them didn’t work, or at least not in a way that was sustainable and fulfilling long term. I think my resilience comes from failing and being forced to create a new plan and find new opportunities. For me, this willingness to persevere is the key to improvement. Making art is all about trying new things, so every mistake and every attempt at a new technique brings me closer to a mastery over my materials, which will allow me to create in the way that I imagine. Read more>>
James Dale
I get my resilience from my parents. My father emigrated here from Jamaica in 1972 with $50 to his name. He came from humble beginnings, but he was able to start a construction business with his cousin Martin and became a self-made entrepreneur. He eventually sold his shares in the company when he met my mother. Read more>>
Doreen Upshaw
In my first award winning book, “Amos And I (The Unique Contributions of a Father)”
*Contribution 5 -Creativity- “Take everything that is a part of you and all that’s been given you and use it!” Amos Upshaw. I wrote, “Our parents fostered a creative environment for us. They were creative, so we learned creativity as well. The truism that “More is caught then taught” has been around for years. I’m not sure who said it, but I know it to be true. I learned more watching my father (and mother) than I did from talking to him…I learned the ethics of hard work and sacrifice.” After watching him run a small in-house store in the community, “As an adult, I opened and directed a licensed childcare facility in our home. I remember the exact moment I realized that my entrepreneurial desires (work ethic) were a direct reflection of my father.” (pg-39) Read more>>
Angrett Davies
My resilience stems from my family, particularly the remarkable women. My grandmother found herself as a single mother of young adult children and a grandmother in the 1970s. She worked tirelessly to provide for her family, often responsible for about 15 of us. She made $250 a month working as the head filing clerk for the Department of public work in Liberia. she rose at 4 a.m. to prepare meals for sale to her entire office daily. She also sewed for people and took on various projects for pay. She created multiple streams of income. Read more>>
Raechele Lovell
Resilience, for me, is deeply rooted in my identity and my lineage. I get it from the powerful womxn in my life who have faced unimaginable adversity and still found ways to survive, to love, and to create. My paternal grandmother, who is about to turn 101, is a living example of that strength. She endured the weight of colonialism, raised generations, and never lost her sense of purpose or fiery spirit. Read more>>
Amelia Thompson
I have found that gratitude has an amazing multiplicative effect. The more I am grateful, the more I have to be thankful for, and the more that I attract reasons to express thankfulness. To cultivate this gratitude resolve, at the end of each day, I try to identify and write down a few moments or events from the day that are reasons to express appreciation. Deliberately looking at my life and naming the blessings that make life sweeter even (and perhaps especially) on difficult days and during challenging seasons has helped me gain perspective and the ability to recover from setbacks. Read more>>
Jenna Kernan
Writing fiction carries a lot of risk to the ego. Works get rejected, books receive bad reviews, authors get dropped by their publishers. All these setbacks can be demoralizing and foster self-doubt. Another, less-mentioned, risk is success, a mixed blessing that carries perils all its own. Early on, when my first book was released, I got very stressed. And I was confused. Wasn’t this supposed to be a happy occasion? So why was I so anxious? That took me down a rapid hole of reading about impostor syndrome, the lengths the ego will go to protect you and why I felt sick to my stomach when someone picked up my first novel. And I learned that fear can be managed. Read more>>
Tabetha Garcia
When I was in the military I remember taking a class on resilience, I think that was the first time I ever heard that word. The instructor led a “death by PowerPoint lecture” but he finished with throwing a tennis ball against the wall and what he said has stuck with me ever since. He squeezed the ball and said, “I can squeeze this ball as hard as I can.” He threw the ball against the wall and then stepped on the ball and said, “even after being stepped on and slammed against the wall, the ball returned to its original form. Be like a tennis ball and bounce back when you hit hard times and don’t allow anything to change your form for more than a short time.” It’s simple but it stuck! Read more>>
Gabriella Cesarone
Resilience – the ability to adapt, recover, and thrive in the face of adversity, stress or challenging circumstances. When I saw the question “where do you get your resilience from?” I knew this was the best question for me. Everyone has a story and mine may look like one that came easy, it actually was the opposite. I have had to work through bullying, domestic mental and physical abuse, and workplace discrimination in my life. Each one of these events has taught me a new way to be resilient and had pushed me to be better. Read more>>
Kelsey Urie
From a very young age, I remember spending a lot of time outside. Whether we were camping, biking, or playing with my siblings and friends. I was given the gift of free time as a child to explore and solve problems on my own. While at times, it was extremely frustrating and lonely, this was the beginning of building my resilience. Knowing I was capable of solving problems at such a young age is truly a super power for a young mind. Read more>>
Emily Dunleavy
When I think of resilience, a myriad of images, words, and stories come to mind. Typically, in our culture, resilience is defined as going through extreme difficulty or adversity without being negatively impacted on a large scale. And can I just say—what a terrible concept of resilience.
If our strength is based on our ability to endure without being affected, we are set up to fail. We are human beings who are deeply and profoundly impacted by everything we experience. That’s what it means to be human: to be affected by our experiences. Read more>>
Rose Freedman
I get my resilience from understanding that nothing worth while is easy. I think the main thing in my life that taught me this early on was my journey to get healthy in fitness and exercise! I knew that I would need to apply myself both physically and mentally in order to achieve the results I desired- and I did! I’ve applied the concept that nothing worth while is easy to almost everything in life- working out, graduating from college, learning how to play the guitar, raising my son, and now, running my business! Read more>>
Jaye Thompsopn
From my time as an athlete participating in swimming, soccer, and tennis, I learned quickly about the value of daily practice. The only way to improve your skills is to consistently show up, focus, and commit to the task. I had to be intentional in each practice and set a goal for myself to strive for. Read more>>
Ashley Sankey
My resilience comes from never staying down. In life, tests happen, things that test your love, your light, your yes, your no, your ability to stand, and your ability to measure the glass half full or half empty. My childhood, adolescent, teen years, and younger adult years were filled with emotional roller coasters. It seemed that at some of the happiest moments in my life, after a basketball win, after a conquered fear, after a family reunion, or even after getting an A on a spelling test, the ugliness of life would show up. Read more>>
Danielle Wooldridge
My resiliency comes from a place deep inside of my gut, inside of my womb. It’s something ancient in my DNA, gifted as a birth rite. My resiliency is wired into my code, watered and fed from my grandparents and their grandparents before them, because of the innate desire to survive. Read more>>
Emerald O’grady
I remember the first time I ever saw the word “resilience” was, of all things, while playing a video game. One of the hot topics when I was a kid was Dragon Quest 9, a game that, like Dungeons and Dragons, collected your stats every battle. It was also a game that featured a plot line about an angel that falls from Heaven, only to be faced with the challenge of saving the world when no one else will. Read more>>
Michelle Gates
I get my resilience from my mother. She has shown me how to keep going even when things are not aligned with the planned we tried to set for ourselves. Read more>>
Thai-ling Cahow
I grew up in a war-torn country, raised by a single father who faced incredible hardships while raising four children. Watching him navigate those challenges without complaint instilled in me a profound sense of resilience. From him, I learned to be driven by my goals and to keep moving forward, no matter the obstacles. Read more>>
Pícara Clavel
Being an independent artist in this world is never easy. No matter how successful you get to be, there are always going to be set backs and things that challenge you, your patience and even your self-esteem and wellbeing. There are months that look better than others, whether it is financially, creatively or even personally. I think the most important thing is to always keep your goal in mind and let go of your ego. Comparison is the biggest threat for most creatives in the present time, whether it is to others or yourself. We get bombed with a lot of information everyday and if you work with social media, as I do, it really never stops. What I’ve learned is to always try to see the positive side of things, I know it can get hard sometimes, but theres always something to be grateful for. Read more>>
Trini
It is in you not on you. The sweetest element of yourself that you meet in the most sour times of your life. One finds resilience when they realize that is the only way out of the flame. The only reason a phoenix exists is resilience. Hardship finds us all. Some of us more than others. The way we recover from the beating of life builds resilience. You then get to a point where you understand that it will all work out in your favor. You get used to recovery. You begin to heal faster each time. It’s almost like resilience is a skill. This skill kept me alive. This talent is what fuels me to move forward. Resilience is in me, not by accident, but with practice. Read more>>
Allison Garrett
Resilience for me comes from a lifetime of navigating some of life’s toughest storms. It’s not just about bouncing back—it’s about breaking through. I learned early on that the world wasn’t going to hand me a free pass, but each challenge taught me something valuable: the power of choice. I chose not to let my past define me, and I continue to choose to show up for myself, no matter what. My resilience is rooted in knowing that every setback is an opportunity to grow, reimagine, and restart. That’s where the real strength comes in—choosing to keep going, and unlocking a version of yourself you didn’t even know existed. Read more>>
Amanda Williams
Resiliency is foundational to my self-preservation and is something I nurture daily. I nurture my resilience by maintaining a non-attached perspective of my life here on Earth. I remind myself every day that I am a soul living in a human form on planet Earth and that I have a wonderful opportunity to not only experience life on this amazing planet, but also help to spread wonder, wisdom, peace, strength, and love in a time that it is so needed. This awareness that I am but a soul, experiencing Earth temporarily while I am in human form naturally opens me up to a deep peace and trust- I know that no matter what happens to me, that I am ok, my soul is fine. Read more>>
Tonya “tee” Tyus
Because interpretations are personal, resilience can mean many things to different people. To better answer this question, I first had to look up the word. Therefore, I’m pulling from the American Psychological Association’s definition, “Resilience is the process and outcome of successfully adapting to difficult or challenging life experiences, especially through mental, emotional, and behavioral flexibility and adjustment to external and internal demands.” Read more>>
