Joe Jasinski: The Boston Journey

By NATHANIEL MEDINA

Adversity means to have struggled in your life but what if adversity didn’t just mean that? What if it meant other things like the opposite of struggle; overcoming obstacles in your life? Or what if it meant not having to struggle at all? I think adversity means to have worry and doubt in yourself but I also think it means to have confidence and bravery. Also, I think it means going through things in your life that are hard to get back up from. I also think it means to overcome challenges or struggles, so instead of dwelling on something you struggled on, you can overcome it and do it again but even better. What I’m trying to say is everyone thinks that when you have adversity in your life, it’s a bad thing. But we can turn adversity into things we succeed in because, in my opinion, it’s easier to fail than it is to succeed. In my life and in everyone's life, there is adversity going on for me. It was when I had to push through a struggle which was not playing that much on the football team and work and continue to grow as a football player until I earned what I deserved and it was to finally play on the team.

I can relate to Mr. J’s story that he gave me because it can be hard moving from place to place, from where you're originally from. I was from the Big Island, then I moved to California and now I’m here and I miss it a lot and I know Mr. J misses his home, too. I also can relate to being privileged and don’t have a lot of adversity in his and my life. But out of the whole interview, I really wanted to know more about meeting new people and how interesting it can be to know other people’s stories, so I’m really glad that he told me this because when I get older I really want to get to know other people I just met but I know it’s going to be wired at first but it can improve my social life, just like Mr. J said but hopefully if I get to know other people’s stories, they can help me figure out what’s next in my story. So I want to say thank you to Mr. J for helping me get out of my comfort zone and hear new people’s stories so we can grow as people.

The quote that I find most powerful was when Mr. J said, “I feel like He is going to put me in spots that are going to challenge me but at the same time make me bounce back from things.”

I like this because, in life, there’s going to be things that bring you down, there’s going to be things that will beat you up, but I believe with a little bit of faith, anything is possible, even when you feel that it’s the end of the world, there’s always a way to make that comeback. And be great in anything you do. In my feel, like God has great things planned for me in my life. I’m grateful to have Him on my side.