2025 Mason Jones Syracuse HS

Resilience is Learned

Since I was a young kid I had to learn how to properly cope with hardships in life, I did not have an easy childhood by any means at all. Starting in my early years of Elementary School I struggled with various medical issues ranging from having a very weak Immune system and always being sick, being diagnosed with asthma and a plethora of environmental allergies to being diagnosed with a gluten intolerance that would later on in my life be discovered to be caused by IBS and a failing gallbladder. By the time I was in 4th grade I had changed schools 4 different times in order to find somewhere that could accommodate my absences due to my various medical issues. By then I had learned how to adapt to new places and try to make the most out of the time I was there which would be a crucial skill for me to have during the coming years. I learned to cope with my new environments by being welcoming to change and not being afraid to start over somewhere new.

By 4th grade my medical issues had calmed down for now but that was far from the last challenge I would have to overcome. It was during 4th grade that my parents’ marriage began to rapidly evolve into screaming matches, spending nights unsure of where my dad was and when he would be back, and police officers responding to calls of domestic violence. By the time I started 5th grade I was living with my mom and three brothers in a rental house in a city 45 minutes from where I grew up that was paid for by mom’s graveyard shifts at a gas station while she searched for a job that could properly provide for the four of us. During this time I knew that I needed to grow up and fast; I already had been exposed to the cruel nature of the world during the height of my parents separation and I knew from now on I needed to learn how to make the best of a less than desirable situation. So many things were changing in my life, I only saw my Dad every other week during court ordered Visitation, I was living in a city I’d never even heard of far away from any friends in my childhood city and the age gap between my brothers and me was rapidly becoming apparent.

Luckily for me I wasn’t unfamiliar with change due my medical history in the prior years but this time felt different. This was so much change happening all at once that everything felt like it was too much for me to handle. 5th grade was not easy for me, even at a very young age I was struggling hard mentally, I didn’t feel like I fit in with the kids in the new city and my world felt like it was closing in on me but I pressed on. I ended 5th grade with 80+ absences due to the circumstances but I had made it through nonetheless. This proved to me that I was capable of pushing through hard times, I knew that if I was able to finish 5th grade without my performance declining, I would be able to make it through whatever else life had to throw at me. I started 6th grade feeling refreshed and ready to make a statement to the ones around me that I could push through any kind of hardship. During 6th grade I was able to make some friends and overall have a very positive experience regardless of the hardships that still plagued my life. During this time I had been doing bi-weekly visitation with my Dad who seemed less and less interested in my success and instead was more interested in getting me to choose a side in the divorce. However, my Mom was not helping the situation either, I felt like a pawn to my parents and their ongoing court battles more than a son. Ultimately, I stayed with my Mom and moved on to focusing on middle school.

Middle school was starting to show the consequences of my forced maturity level due to my parents divorce. I still felt like I didn’t belong here, the kids in my grade seemed shallow and childish to me even though I was a child myself. I struggled to fit in and started to show signs of depression. My Mom noticed this change in my behavior and signed me up for therapy for kids who had been through divorces. Looking back to this I am very thankful that I started this journey of therapy at a young age, it helped me grow and cope with my ever changing surroundings. Through therapy I learned how to deal with the complicated emotions I was dealing with, I was taught to relieve my anxiety through drawing, going for a walk, or playing with my Star Wars Legos rather than bottle it up and let it consume my life. By 9th grade I finally felt like I was not just surviving in my circumstances but also thriving in them. I had met my best friend through church and finally caught up on the social skills I was lacking in the years beforehand. It was also during this time that I learned the importance and my own passion for succeeding in school. I took my classes very seriously and made sure I gave my schoolwork everything I had in me. I wanted to prove to myself and to the people around me that regardless of the hurdles I had to overcome, I could be something great. I finished Middle school with an ambitious thirst to continue my success in the coming years of high school.

The rest of my High School years would be far from being free of hurdles and challenges for me to overcome. Although, due to my therapy and difficult experiences in the past I was able to be much more prepared for hardships. One of the personality traits I developed during my difficult childhood was caring very deeply for the ones around me. I loved to share the skills and experiences I gained with others in hopes of inspiring them to succeed and overcome any challenges they may be having in life. Life will always find a way to present challenges and difficulties but you can’t lose sight of the light of the tunnel and the ways to help guide you to it. I would highly recommend to anyone going through a difficult time that they know they are not alone in their trials. As I’ve gotten older I have seen a Taboo develop around therapy and other mental health resources, this Taboo prevents many people from seeking the resources and assistance they might benefit from. I hope that my story can inspire others to know they are not alone in life and to know that there is no shame or deserved Taboo in seeking assistance with mental health. Without therapy I would not be the person I am now and I am forever grateful for the skills I learned from my years of therapy. These skills helped me cope through the many hardships of life and I truly hope others can feel inspired from my story and know that they are from alone in this life.