We’ve shared some incredible stories of resilience below that we hope will help you on your journey towards building up your resilience.
Mike Rae Anderson
My resilience was developed from a rock bottom time in my life when at age 19, I ended up in prison with a life sentence. Even though I was told it was the end of the road for me, I refused to believe it. I decided to make Champagne out of Lemons and turned my whole life around on the inside. I earned two college degrees, began writing plays that were approved to be produced and performed by inmates, tutored the younger inmates and helped them get their GED’s, and became a model inmate. I learned that keeping a positive mental attitude even in the darkest place is the true definition of resilience. Read More>>
Amos A Gregory Jr
Watching my grandmother, father and mother demonstrate resilience in the face of adversity provided me with powerful examples of strength and perseverance. My grandmother having faced significant challenges over her lifetime showed me how to maintain grace under pressure. Her ability to stay calm and collected during tough times gave me a model of emotional resilience. Whether it was through storytelling or her unwavering presence she taught me patience and the importance of inner strength. Read More>>
Rania Hoteit
My resilience was forged through lived experience—through the instability of war, the disorientation of displacement, and the quiet strength that grows when you have no choice but to adapt. I was born and raised in Beirut during the civil war and Israeli invasions, where survival became second nature. Our home was bombed multiple times, and my family had to flee across borders. In those years, I learned that resilience isn’t just about endurance. It’s about finding vision in the midst of chaos. Read More>>
Miles Frizzell
I’ve always grown up around musicians and songwriters. When I was 12, I picked up the guitar and decided to learn Left Handed! Everyone around me had told me “You’ll never be able to play left handed.” or “Why would you learn how to play the (wrong) way?”. My passion for guitar and my love for The Beatles (Specifically Paul) fueled this idea of me learning how to play the opposite way on guitar. Read More>>
Andrea Rios McMillian
I get my resilience from generations of women who endured, prayed, and persisted through dark nights that have swallowed others whole.
Picture this: a small house in a struggling part of town, my mother working late, my grandmother whispering prayers in Spanish over a pot of beans, waiting for her telenovelas to begin and me—a quiet, observant girl watching it all. We didn’t have much, but we had faith. We had each other. And I learned early that resilience wasn’t about pretending things didn’t hurt—it was about standing up even when they did. Read More>>
Amy Looper
Following God’s will which often requires taking risks. It is in the challenges that we are sharpened, strengthened and realize that that we can lead with courage, commitment, compassion, connection and confidence no matter the circumstance we’re navigating. Read More>>
Steve Wormer
My resilience was forged through the crucible of personal failure and redemption. Early in our marriage, we were just 48 hours from divorce due to poor choices I made. With the help of a marriage counselor and, more importantly, through studying the Bible with a local church community, both my wife and I became Christians. That transformation not only saved our marriage—it gave us a new foundation for life. Read More>>
Brad Dietrich
That is a heavy question! Resilience is not easy. I’ve had my share of of experience with it to know that sometimes it is easier said to be “resilient” than actually done. My resilience comes from a combination of things. A good community and circle of support is helpful. Surround yourself with people you want to be around, if someone gives you bad vibes, kindly move on. No need to explain yourself, just find someone or something somewhere else. But, it definitely takes a LOT of rejection and hurt to be resilient. You can’t just be born “resilient,” you need to practice and experience it. Read More>>
Ron Cloyd
My resilience has been forced upon me, through no ones fault. In early 2000, I was diagnosed with End Stage Renal Disease (kidney failure). I spent nine months going to in center hemodialysis treatments, followed by a transplant through the generous kidney donation from my first cousin. My transplant lasted twenty three years, until my physicians discovered a cancerous tumor in my surviving kidney. Read More>>
Kelli Perkins
My resilience comes from my faith in God. I was introduced to the Christian faith at a young age—whether it was Sunday school, listening to my grandma talk about her love for God, hearing my great aunt preach, or simply witnessing my family worship together. Faith quickly became the foundation of my life.
As I grew in my understanding of how faith works, I began to recognize miracles in the midst of hardship. One of the most defining moments was during college, when I was caring for my maternal grandmother as she battled ovarian cancer. Read More>>
Ashley Latimer
I didn’t start out as a single mom. That part of my story began when my daughter was four, and I filed for divorce — a decision I could only make once I knew I could fully support myself. What a lot of people don’t know is that my online business gave me the freedom to make that choice. Before that, I was a special education teacher (8 years), and then a School District Administrator for the Special Education department — a career I really loved. Read More>>
Katherine Shapiro
Resilience is born in the shadows. In the dark, musty places of our minds that we often don’t like going to. Resilience is found in the everyday choices to put one foot in front of the other, and the places where we find new edges we never knew we had. Sometimes life pushes us off the ledge and other times it is a push and pull of everyday tasks that seem like drudgery. Read More>>
Dana Kent
I have found that I get resilience from a number of things: Community, Connection, Body Movement, Rest, and time with my humans. Just like many of us what I call “COVID times” I really was impacted by how isolating the experience was I found that it really impacted my ability to be resilient. The good news was that I was able to really narrow in on what my values were and the need to be connected to my community, friends, and family. Read More>>
Jesula Saintus
Where do you get your resilience from?
Let me take you back—picture this: My dad was a machine. He worked multiple jobs, barely slept, but always showed up with strength and heart. My mom? A real-life queen with a crown of courage. Just fifteen days after giving birth to me, she had a stroke that left her paralyzed on one side. But you’d never know it by her spirit. She moved mountains without moving much—raising my brother and me with love, laughter, and grit. Read More>>
Mac Steele
This is easy, I had the greatest role model in resilience and that is my Dad. In March of 1998, he was married to the most amazing woman who was mother to his three sons. He saw her that morning and by evening that night, she was gone due to a tragic and unexpected heart attack. Most people would retreat, find comfort in something that was not healthy but he didn’t. He poured himself into his three boys, his work, and his friends more than ever. Read More>>
Martha Salgado
In every difficult moment of my life, there is a powerful force that never leaves me: Faith. Read More>>
Tanise Anderson
I developed my resilience during my youth when I woke up in the NICU after a major surgery. I was disoriented, in an immense amount of pain and unable to walk. My body had hit reset, but my mind still remembered who I used to be. The shock of shifting from an athletic and passionate child who had recently performed in dance recitals and competed in soccer games, to someone who couldn’t even stand up without collapsing, is a feeling no amount of planning can prepare you for. Read More>>
Rachael Lofgran
Resilience didn’t come naturally to me, it’s something I’ve earned. I grew up where, at times, things were undeniably tough. I remember buckling under the pressure of trying to stay afloat in school, navigating emotionally charged social situations, or scrambling to find enough money to cover basic needs.
Over time, I developed something more powerful than comfort: a “survival” instinct. I trained myself to restart after every so-called “failure,” and eventually, I didn’t just survive, I learned to thrive. There are a couple ways I do a restart. Read More>>
Ødin
I guess I think often about where I’m coming from and where I’m going. I’m not where I want to be yet and that gives me a great deal of resilience.
I also really like a good challenge. Read More>>
Rachel Aflleje
“If you’re not laughing, you’re not helping me heal.”
That’s a tag from one of my most vulnerable jokes, and it perfectly captures the mindset I’ve developed over the years. My life hasn’t ever been easy, but I’ve never allowed that to be a reason I give up. I’ve learned that life is going to happen whether you face it with a bad attitude or good one. So why not take a moment, cry it out, then girl-boss forward with some whimsy? Read More>>
Lamiya Kirby
Hello, My name is Lamiya Kirby and I am the owner of Joyce Essentials Beauty Supply Store located at 375 A Gambrills Road, Gambrills, MD 21054. Joyce Essentials is a Beauty Supply Store that provides haircare and skincare products as well as supplies and equipment for licensed professionals in the beauty industry. Retail services are provided to those living in the Anne Arundel County area and shipping services are available to customers anywhere in the U.S. In addition to products Joyce Essentials also offers natural hair care services. Read More>>
Milaan Moses
One of the biggest things that makes me who I am is my resilience. I was never the girl who went through xyz, I was just always Milaan. I owe that to my mom.
She endured more than any human should ever have to in her one life time. Even an ounce of what she has been through, that I have witnessed, would break someone. From medical malpractices that left her disabled after 50+ surgeries, to abusive relationships that have left her in the streets, etc. Read More>>
Savannah Staples
Music is everything to me. I get my resilience because it is truly my greatest passion and priority. All I want in the world is to create music, so when I am struggling to get a certain chord right, or I can’t find the right lyric, I remind myself that I am so lucky to do what I do and that I just need to keep going. Sometimes resilience also does not necessarily mean going and going. Sometimes when I am at writer’s block, I take a step back and allow myself a break. This break is not ‘giving up’ it is merely a way to inspire Read More>>
Ronak Patel
One of the quotes on my white board is to, “Be Ruthlessly Resilient.”
It is something that has come into the forefront of my awareness within the last year or two.
It originates from a generalized, don’t quit attitude. If you never quit, you never fail. If you fall down, pick yourself up and dust yourself off. If it was easy, everyone would do it, etc. Read More>>
Danara Cavalieri
I get my resilience from my mom. She taught me to stand up after every bad situation and to never give up. She always knows the right words to say during difficult times. She had cancer twice, and the second time, she decided to fight it with everything she had. She faced radiotherapy with a smile every day and told me she wouldn’t let it bring her down. And she didn’t—she was stronger than cancer, and she beat it. She also taught me that no one really knows how strong they are until being strong is the only choice they have. Read More>>
Luisana Rivas
It hasn’t always been an easy journey from a child with artistic dreams in socialist Venezuela to an opera singer and advocate in the U.S. I’d start by saying that resilience, whatever form it takes for each person, is an essential skill for any artist. Given the lack of consistent work, an ever-shrinking pool of opportunities, and the fierce competition in the performing arts world, sometimes the only thing that keeps you going is sheer grit—alongside a deep love for your art form and an undeniable need to express yourself creatively. Read More>>
Samuel McKeown
My Dad taught me, although not intentionally, at a young age the thought process of “Don’t Duck, Lean In. Dad worked nights and I rarely had long periods of time to spend with him. One particular afternoon her was home, up and asked if I wanted to go to the ballfield and practice. Little League tryouts were coming up! Naturally, I was excited and said yes! Read More>>
Kelly Maureen James
I didn’t grow up in a safe world. I grew up in a home ruled by emotional volatility, abandonment, and abuse. I was the middle child of three children, raised by a single mother whose unhealed trauma poured out of her in unpredictable waves—sometimes rage, sometimes affection, often both in quick succession. Our home was a place where safety was fleeting, where peace could be shattered in an instant, and where love and fear learned to coexist. Read More>>
Crystal Strong-Wilson
My resilience comes from a number of things. I’m a wife, a mother of 3, and an educator. Need I say more? Lol. Well, if I had to dig deep and really think about when I first realized that I had resilience it was a childhood experience that was the worst/best thing to ever happen to me. We had just moved from the eastside of Albany, Ga. to the westside of Albany, Ga. It was the start of my 2nd grade school year, and I was a bit nervous to leave my beloved school, Isabella Elementary. Read More>>
K. Bo24
Growing up, my father had many short, rememberable sayings that always stuck with me. One of the things he would say is, “Small things to a giant.” Meaning no matter how tall the obstacle ahead is, you’re bigger than that, & can overcome it. Read More>>
April Rom
I get my resilience from my past—everything I went through growing up made me who I am. I didn’t have parents to guide me or protect me. I experienced abuse, neglect, instability, and survival at a very young age. I moved around a lot, lived in difficult conditions, and was often completely on my own. But I think because I had no one to fall back on, I learned how to rely on myself. Read More>>
Cece Tor
I get my resilience from God. As a believer, I not only pull inspiration from the price Jesus paid for me on calvary, but also from how He covers and protects me from some of the worst situations I’ve been in. In 2016 I was hired, along with my dance crew at the time, by a Chinese talent agency to live and work in China as entertainment in the nightclubs there. Things started off a bit rocky when we arrived and noticed the visa the agency provided for us was not a working visa, but a tourist visa. Read More>>
Joshua Rhodes
My resilience definitely comes from my mom. Growing up in LA, I watched her navigate so many challenges with grace and determination. She never backed down from anything, and that strength really shaped who I am. In the fashion world, things don’t always go as planned—you hear “no” a lot, deadlines are brutal, and trends shift overnight. But my mom taught me to keep pushing, stay grounded, and turn setbacks into fuel. That mindset has carried me through every collection I’ve built. Read More>>
Mabell Rodriguez
I get my resilience from life itself. Every setback, every moment I thought about giving up, taught me how strong I really am. I didn’t grow up having everything handed to me — I had to figure things out, stay focused, and keep moving even when things felt impossible. Over time, I learned that resilience isn’t about always being strong, it’s about showing up for yourself, even on the hard days. That’s what’s kept me grounded, and it’s what keeps me pushing forward no matter what. Read More>>
Angela Alfieri
I grew up in a home where I was always waiting for the other shoe to drop. You know that feeling—when everything seems calm, but chaos can erupt at any moment? That undercurrent of unpredictability shaped me in ways I didn’t fully understand until I started digging deeper during my college years as a psychology major. Read More>>
Tracy And Sunshine Gantt
Our resilience is rooted in our faith, lived experience, and an unwavering belief that purpose can rise from pain. My husband Tracy and I both know what it’s like to feel forgotten. We’ve been through addiction, incarceration, separation, homelessness, and even near-death experiences. But through it all, we held on to hope — and to God’s promises. Read More>>
