The Greatest Strength And My Greatest Weakness

“You always say ‘it’s fine’ whenever I ask you if everything is okay,” my boss said to me, one summer Sunday in the middle of the brunch rush, that was typical in the small, family owned restaurant that I had waited tables at for the past 3 years. “If it’s not fine, you just have to say something and we can get you some help.”
I had learned from a young age, that it was easier to say, “It’s fine”, or some variation of that, than it was to explain whatever was really going on with the situation at the time. I’m fiercely independent which some may say is both my greatest strength and my greatest weakness. A double-edged sword, if you will. I don’t ask for help very often and have tendency to forget that most of the time that it is even an option.
I was forced to grow up fast, my entire life and everything I had ever known, changing in the matter of a day. I grew up in a small town in Kansas and was raised by my grandmother and great grandmother. Everything I knew and loved was contained in that little one cop, one stoplight town. My mother was a part of my life, but almost in that distant relative kind of way. I would see her two to three times a year, one of those being, our annual summer family trip out to Colorado, where she lived with her husband and my half-sister.
I was ten when my world was turned upside down, a routine summer trip out to Colorado turned into my worst nightmare. It was the morning we were supposed to leave to head back to Kansas and everyone’s bags were in the car but mine. My grandma and my mother were both crying and I was confused as to what was going on. It became quite clear that I was staying and my grandma was going back, I was completely heart broken and angry. My mother tried to soften the blow th...

... middle of paper ...

...rent. It was fine though, I could do both, I could attend school full time and still provide for myself. I didn’t need any help I would be fine.
It was true, I was fine, and I made it through three and a half years at Colorado State University supporting myself and graduating on time. I was so used to being independent and not asking for help that I thrived on my own. I found my passion for what I wanted to do in the future and put steps in place to get there. I continued to use my go to phrase of “It’s fine” in all situations but slowly realized that I didn’t have to settle for fine. I wanted to be able to say, “It’s great” and have that be the truth, so I started to push myself harder and set bigger goals. The number one goal being going to law school and I believe that I would never have to use the phrase “It’s fine” while attending Roger Williams School of Law.