As a high school freshman, my life revolved around classes and student government. I was a member of the debate team, environmental club, and a senator in student government. Through these experiences, I got to hone several strengths that have been with me ever since. The first major strength that I learned to harness was communication . In both debates and student government, I learned how to speak in front of crowds and clearly convey my ideas. This strength has served me well in all the jobs I’ve had since high school because it is necessary for persuading people to your point of view.
Another major strength that I gained during my freshman year was organization . Whenever you are running an entire club or senate, organization is key. For me, this meant staying on top of all the schedules, putting together agendas for meetings, and keeping track of what still needed to be done on certain projects. Since then, my organizational strengths have helped me get where I am today by helping me stay ahead of deadlines and tracking project progress from start to finish.
A third talent I developed during my freshman year was time management . In the debate club, we had to schedule practice times with our coaches and prepare for upcoming tournaments. In student government, I learned how to budget my time so I could finish the workload on a tight deadline. My strengths in time management have also helped me progress in my career by allowing me to work long hours when necessary but still maintain a good work-life balance. Fourthly, confidence is another strength that I gained during high school.
When you are running for senator or president of an organization, you must be confident enough to convince your audience why they should vote for you. Although it can sometimes backfire because you end up over-promising what you will do if elected, this strength still helps me stand out from the crowd. I’ve used confidence to be more assertive when it comes to asking for a raise, going after a new opportunity, and presenting ideas in meetings. Finally, adaptability is my last major strength that I honed during high school.
Each debate or senate meeting had a different subject with different people running it. As a result, you have to be able to adapt quickly to whatever comes your way so you can run the meeting efficiently. In college and now in my career as an analyst, adaptability has been very helpful because each project or client has different needs that require me to constantly think on my feet. So as you can see, these strengths have been with me for over 10 years now and have made me the person I am today. Although strengths are not everything, they do play a large role in what makes each one of us unique.
Today (or whatever day you write the essay) is no ordinary day. Today happens to be an important day. It marks a major anniversary, as well as significant development of my strengths as a person. In the past year alone, I have experienced great personal growth and have come closer to my goals than ever before. However, this has not been an easy journey—not by any means—and there have been many obstacles along the way that I had to overcome on my own time and through my hard work.
The start of this journey began about a decade ago when I first heard those two simple words: “What are your strengths?” These were among some of the most difficult words for me at that age to answer since strengths weren’t really emphasized in my family or community. I eventually came up with a couple strengths, but this still left me feeling short of the mark because I knew there were many strengths which had yet to be discovered by me. These words have stuck with me since that day and have become an integral part of how I view myself today, as well as how I select my strengths for each new goal.
My journey has brought me much success over the years in sports, academics, and even my personal life. Looking back at where it all began, however, makes me reflect on what strengths motivated me through these early stages—strengths that are still prominent today due to their repetition throughout my life. Without further ado, here are five strengths that have made all the difference for me!
1. Honesty
Being honest is not an easy thing to do, but it is something that I hold extremely important to me. It’s not just something that I choose; it’s more of a need for me, as it helps keep my conscience clear. Because of this strength (among other strengths), I am able to stay true to myself and my family— no matter what happens—and this gives me great comfort in knowing that there is always someone on my side who will support me through tough times. Over the years, honesty has also brought many positive effects into my life such as finding new friends who value what I say and helping others become better people for themselves.
2. Perseverance
Never give up! It is such a simple phrase that has meant so much to me throughout my life especially when I was younger and found it hard to express my strengths as well as those around me expected me to. However, now that I am older, those same words have become more than just a motto for success; they have shaped the type of person I am today and what strengths I choose for myself and others. Throughout school and sports I always knew if you worked hard enough you would eventually succeed with your goals by never quitting on yourself or quitting on your team.
But, with perseverance I also knew that people who reach their goals often value determination over all else because this strength is not just about working hard, it’s about believing in yourself and your strengths when nobody else does. In the future, this strength will help me achieve many more of my goals by never giving up during life’s most difficult moments.
3. Optimism
Optimism has been a major part of my strengths since I was younger because it helps me see things from a different perspective rather than always thinking negatively or pessimistically. For example, whenever one of my sports teams would be down three points going into the last quarter of a game I would always tell them that we could still win if we pushed harder and played our strengths—and we usually did! Over the years, however, optimism has become much more than just a strength for me; it has become my philosophy in life. For example, in times of adversity I have always believed that if you have the right strengths to change your situation then you will be able to overcome any enemy or challenge you face in life.
4. Teamwork
Teamwork is one of strengths which helped me throughout my athletic career at both the high school and university level. It may sound cliché, but teamwork really does make the dream work when done with passion and energy especially on teams where everyone cares about doing their best to help one another succeed! But this strength isn’t just helpful in sports, it’s useful in many other ways—like school projects or even spending time with friends and family. In the future, this strength will play a major role in my life and career by helping me succeed in the workplace and manage any difficult teams I work for because I know that with teamwork we can turn any negative situation into a positive one.
5. Commitment
Commitment is something that I love to practice especially while participating in sports such as cross-country skiing or rowing where you compete for yourself regardless of what others around you are doing. It was not always like this however; when I first started training it was important to me to fit into my team’s strengths rather than show off my strengths at every chance possible. Over time, though, commitment became an extremely important part of my strengths and sport in general because it helped me become person who thrives on competing not only against herself but also with herself. This strength will play a major role in my life and sport by helping me continue to overcome any challenges or obstacles I may face while training for future races.
Over the years, strengths like honesty, perseverance, optimism, teamwork, and commitment have played an important role in shaping the type of strengths that I chose for myself; ultimately making me into the strengths-driven person that lives today!
