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.
Alexis Gray
Resilience to me (Kaylia Capri) is a sport. It comes when you’ve put your all into a goal, prayed, sacrificed and committed your time and energy to achieving it. To fall short, ending up with the short end of the stick. The moment you feel this great pressure in your chest when you have to face the realization that you’ve lost. Read More>>
Mark Sevillano Jr.
From a young age my parents always embedded in my mind the mentality that I can do anything with Christ on my side. I grew up with a scripture from the Bible found in the book of Philippians chapter 4 verse 13 which states. ‘I can do all things though Christ who strengthens me.’ That verse shaped my life. Read More>>
Natalia Torres
My resilience comes from my faith. Spending time with God daily keeps me grounded and helps me maintain peace, even when things aren’t going my way. It would have been easy to get stuck in discouragement but I’ve learned that when I start from a place of spiritual strength, I’m able to approach challenges with a clearer mind and a calmer heart. Read More>>
Jordon Alexander
I don’t believe my resilience comes from any one thing, and it certainly didn’t just appear one day. It’s something that’s been built—strengthened with every passing year. In many ways, I was forced into resilience through hardship and survival. At times I’ve been bitter about that, but more often I’ve chosen to use those challenges as fuel for my fire. Read more>>
Wayne Kramer
Over the years, I’ve seen so many people, in both business and personal endeavors, simply throw up their hands and give up on something they really wanted. I get it – sometimes you’re told ‘no.’ Sometimes you run into what feels like a brick wall that you can’t get around. Read More>>
Lance Ding
I’ve been a founder for the past five years, and throughout that time, I’ve experienced a lot of ups and downs. When I first started out, I didn’t have any mentors or peers, and I realized how crucial community and real relationships are in the entrepreneurial journey. Read More>>
Jesse Rivera
I get my resilience from the storms I’ve survived and the roots I was planted in. Becoming a mother at sixteen could have broken me, but instead it became my greatest strength. It taught me grit, responsibility, and how to create stability out of chaos. I also inherited resilience from my mother. Read More>>
PJ (Junjie) Pan
I have always wanted to be a resilient person, and I have worked actively to build that quality. As a Chinese motion designer trying to build a life and career in the United States, especially in today’s climate, we face a constant stream of uncertainty and limits that are outside our control. In the beginning, this filled me with anxiety and doubt. Read More>>
Paola Salvador
Acting is basically a marathon of rejections, between failed auditions, or callbacks, castings where they don’t even bother to see your self-tape and many more. Resilience is not an option, it’s a must in order to survive in the industry. Personally, whenever I send an audition, I try to forget about it immediately, as if it never happened. Read More>>
Lamont Pete
I get my resilience from two places. My upbringing and my purpose. I grew up in an environment where nothing was handed to you, so you either learned to adapt or you got left behind. My family taught me that obstacles aren’t stop signs, they’re checkpoints. Moments where you prove to yourself that you can push through. Read More>>
Feras Almusa
I built my resilience by being okay with discomfort. Setbacks made me sharper, different cultures taught me to stay flexible, and letting go of ego kept me moving. I put my energy into what I care about — not what others think. Read More>>
Gianfranco Fernández-Ruiz
I don’t know how much of my resilience is nature or nurture. My mom worked wild hours as a kid. My grandmother worked round the clock. All of the women around me made the world turn. Sweat on the brow seemed an institutional tenet of the Ruiz household – I took it with my café con leche every morning before the sun came up. Read More>>
Jessica/Teresa Damschen/Richey
Our family and especially each other. When one of us is struggling the other usually knows exactly what to say to pick the other up. Read More>>
Jennie Smythe
Experience and planning have been the most prolific sources of resilience for me and for my team at Girlilla Marketing. You can’t anticipate every problem of course, but planning for a multitude of scenarios and having stepped in sticky situations enough times has made me less nervous about what could or should happen. Read More>>
Nicole Areu
Resilience is something I didn’t exactly choose — it was chosen for me. I’m a single mom of two autistic kids, and quitting isn’t an option. My kids needed, and still need, stability. Read More>>
Poseidon Neptune
Resilience wasn’t something I was born with. It was forged. I spent seven years hooked on heroin, four on cocaine, and four in the penitentiary. I survived seven overdoses, twelve car wrecks, and cycled through sixteen treatment centers. I don’t romanticize any of it, but it taught me perspective. If I’m breathing and free, it’s a good day for me. Read More>>
John Castle
This is a question with so many possible answers. My mother is an extremely resilient woman so if the question is, who set an example of resilience for me to follow, I would have to say her. She lost her father, who was her world, at an early age. My father left her for another woman when I was twelve. Read More>>
Emanuel Deanda
I probably got my resiliency from my mother and father and also in my own journeys in my young life. Playing sports like high school football, it helped to strengthen my mind for touch situations and adversity. It shaped me. S/o to my high school George Westinghouse High in the neighborhood of Homewood in my home city Pittsburgh. Read More>>
AINA
My resilience comes from my story. Everyone has a story, I’m no exception. The challenges and experiences in mine have taught me to keep going no matter what, and they’ve shaped not just who I am as a person, but also the way I express myself through music. Read More>>
Adam Garcia-Morales
My resilience comes from a blend of pain, purpose, and discipline. I’ve been through battles with addiction, heartbreak, betrayal, and moments where I felt stripped of my identity. But I’ve learned that resilience isn’t about being unshaken, it’s about standing back up every single time you get knocked down, even if your legs are trembling. Read More>>
Jena Priebe
I think my resilience comes from having the courage to take chances and let myself fail. I was lucky to have a support system that made me feel empowered growing up, so when I slipped up, I had someone to talk to me and cared for me. Of course, it felt like the end of the world at the time… Read More>>
Salima Subramanian
I get my resilience from the people who’ve believed in me, even when I doubted myself. One of the biggest tests of that resilience came when I decided to start my own salon. I had always loved hair, but I was starting from scratch—no big client list, no safety net, just a dream and a lot of uncertainty. The early days were exhausting. Read More>>
Jonina Liao
I think my resilience comes from learning to exist between spaces—between cultures, between expectations, between who I was and who I wanted to become. Growing up with an Asian background in a world where my creative instincts didn’t always fit the mold taught me to listen inwardly first. Read More>>
Michael Connor
Resilience? Surviving alcoholism/substance abuse and a heart attack gave me a perspective of playing with house money if you will I’ve been given second and third chances so i wanted to make them count being in Advertising for many years i developed a bit of a thick skin. Not sure if it’s ever thick enough though Read More>>
Gabriella Feracho-Seymour
I got my resilience from my dad. I watched him raise three young children under the age of 3, by himself, for nearly a decade. Through the toughest times, he remained faithful, loving, and generous. He never stopped giving; even when we had little, and somehow, God always made a way. Watching him live with strength and grace became my blueprint for resilience. Read More>>
Hadiyah Weaver
I definitely believe my resilience comes from my upbringing in Memphis. Born and raised in the Bluff City, I truly think my hometown shaped me into someone who can adapt to life’s ups and downs. As a creative entrepreneur, especially in today’s climate, I don’t really have a choice but to keep going when things get tough. Read More>>
Diego Serrano
I get my resilience from having to figure things out on my own, starting with just a camera and a vision. I didn’t have connections or a clear path laid out. Everything I’ve built came from staying curious, staying committed, and showing up consistently even when there was no guarantee of success. Read More>>
Bea del Pozo
Resilience, for me, has come from working in a field where unpredictability is part of the job description. Filmmaking demands constant problem-solving. No matter how much you plan, something always shifts: the schedule, the light, the mood on set. Sometimes it’s technical, a location falls through, equipment fails, and sometimes it’s emotional, like navigating different personalities or keeping morale high when energy is low. Read More>>
Luis dominguez
I get my resilience from my passion for tattooing and the connection I build with my clients. Moving from Spain to Los Angeles to pursue this dream wasn’t easy, but every challenge I’ve faced has made me stronger. What keeps me going is the trust people place in me to create something meaningful on their skin. Read More>>
Nicole/ Ashlyn/ Allysa Shelton
Our resilience comes from our mom. We’ve watched her push through life’s toughest challenges with strength and grace, and that showed us how to never give up. Both she and our dad have been successful business owners for our entire lives, so we literally grew up surrounded by entrepreneurship. Read More>>
Trinity Orosco-Moore
Resilience is one of the most important things for me. It comes from so many different things. I’ve always been a very driven individual som it came easy. I am also one hundred precent my own biggest critic. I also can be a victim of my own negative thoughts, anxiety, small depressions, blood, sweat, tears, loosing relationships, financial struggles, and set backs. Read More>>
D.C. Phillips
Growing up, my mom always told me, “It never hurts to ask.” So many people–including myself at times–are afraid to put themselves out there and expose themselves to potential rejection or ridicule. As a writer, I experience this sense of vulnerability when I share my work for critique, whether I’m seeking feedback from a beta reader or submitting a piece for consideration in a zine. Read More>>
Cameron Holly Dexter
I think my resiliency comes from having a deep sense of curiosity (both about the world and myself) and trusting that every setback or unexpected turn is another layer of the story. I’ve always been someone who thrives on storytelling and creativity, so when things get tough, I look for the meaning, the lesson, or even the creative potential hidden inside the challenge. Read More>>
Carly O’Brien
My resilience isn’t just a personal trait; it’s a practice forged in the face of my family’s health battles and my own journey as a ‘fertility warrior.’ These experiences have taught me that strength is found not in avoiding challenges, but in confronting them with an open heart and a willingness to share. Read More>>
Wendy Alcala
I got my resilience from facing life challenges head-on. I didn’t let the bad things in life define me and get stronger because of them. Read More>>
Faith Dodson-Bey
My resilience comes from taking inventory of everything God has already blessed me with. A friend once told me, ‘If God wanted things to be any different, they would be,’ and I carry that with me. It reminds me that the place I’m in right now is just one chapter of a much bigger story. Read More>>
