Resilience
By: Sarah Ballard
Life is like a roller-coaster: there are so many ups and downs but by the time it is over you fear nothing because you came out with more courage than even going in. Cancer is like a roller-coaster, too. You are terrified of the drop, in your mind you always know that something could go wrong. Breast cancer affects countless women every year. Anita Ballard, my grandmother, was diagnosed with breast cancer 5 years ago when she was 76 years old. Juliette Gordon Low, the founder of Girl Scouts of America, was diagnosed with breast cancer when she was 63 years of age. Both women are the perfect representations of resilience. Breast cancer is one of the hardest things to go through, and both women went through it with a positive attitude and never gave up. If I ever go through a hard time such as breast cancer, I will have the same hope and courage as they did and never give up, just as these two inspiring women did.
Anita Ballard, my father's mother has always been a kind, loving woman. Always an optimist and never says never. When she was diagnosed with breast cancer 5 years ago, it was a shock to our whole family, because she has always been so healthy and lively. Even though finding out that she had breast cancer gave us all a scare, my grandma insured us that she would be okay. The more tests she took, the more bad news followed them. Our hope was slowly fading away as she grew sicker and sicker. But she kept assuring us that everything will be okay, and not once did she lose faith.
Just as my grandmother stayed strong, so did Juliette Gordon Low, the founder of Girl Scouts of America. Juliette Gordon Low, also known as “Daisy” was born on October 31, 1860 in Savannah, Georgia. She grew up in a happy, wealthy family and was always helping others and putting others first. She was a very caring and loving child. In 1911, she met Sir Robert Baden-Powell, founder of the Boy Scouts and Girl Guides. She was immediately interested in the new youth movement. Less than a year later, she made her historic telephone call to a friend saying, "I've got something for the girls of Savannah, and all of America, and all the world, and we're going to start it tonight!" On March 12, 1912, Juliette Low gathered 18 girls to register the first troop of American Girl Guides and she changed the name to Girl Scouts the next year. Just like Juliette Gordon Low never let deafness, back problems or cancer keep her from full participation in life, she showed all the Girl Scouts how to do the same. Girl Scouts have grown from those first 18 girls to 3.7 million members. It is the largest educational organization for girls in the world and has influenced more than 50 million girls. This just shows that even though her life ended, she is still resilient because she created such a huge organization and established an incredible legacy even while fighting cancer.
These two women are two of the most inspiring women I can think of. They both went through the toughest of times, and still never gave up hope. And that is part of the reason why I think they made it through. Juliette Gordon Low created one of the biggest organizations in America today, and at the same time, was struggling with breast cancer. Even though she lost the tough battle against breast cancer, in the end she is resilient because she was so successful, and still is. My grandma is resilient because even at an old age, she went through breast cancer and is better then ever, and free of cancer. These two women rode this wonderful roller-coster that we call life in such an inspiring ways. We should all learn from these two amazing stories and grow from them, just as Anita Ballard and Juliette Gordon Low did.
By: Sarah Ballard
Life is like a roller-coaster: there are so many ups and downs but by the time it is over you fear nothing because you came out with more courage than even going in. Cancer is like a roller-coaster, too. You are terrified of the drop, in your mind you always know that something could go wrong. Breast cancer affects countless women every year. Anita Ballard, my grandmother, was diagnosed with breast cancer 5 years ago when she was 76 years old. Juliette Gordon Low, the founder of Girl Scouts of America, was diagnosed with breast cancer when she was 63 years of age. Both women are the perfect representations of resilience. Breast cancer is one of the hardest things to go through, and both women went through it with a positive attitude and never gave up. If I ever go through a hard time such as breast cancer, I will have the same hope and courage as they did and never give up, just as these two inspiring women did.
Anita Ballard, my father's mother has always been a kind, loving woman. Always an optimist and never says never. When she was diagnosed with breast cancer 5 years ago, it was a shock to our whole family, because she has always been so healthy and lively. Even though finding out that she had breast cancer gave us all a scare, my grandma insured us that she would be okay. The more tests she took, the more bad news followed them. Our hope was slowly fading away as she grew sicker and sicker. But she kept assuring us that everything will be okay, and not once did she lose faith.
Just as my grandmother stayed strong, so did Juliette Gordon Low, the founder of Girl Scouts of America. Juliette Gordon Low, also known as “Daisy” was born on October 31, 1860 in Savannah, Georgia. She grew up in a happy, wealthy family and was always helping others and putting others first. She was a very caring and loving child. In 1911, she met Sir Robert Baden-Powell, founder of the Boy Scouts and Girl Guides. She was immediately interested in the new youth movement. Less than a year later, she made her historic telephone call to a friend saying, "I've got something for the girls of Savannah, and all of America, and all the world, and we're going to start it tonight!" On March 12, 1912, Juliette Low gathered 18 girls to register the first troop of American Girl Guides and she changed the name to Girl Scouts the next year. Just like Juliette Gordon Low never let deafness, back problems or cancer keep her from full participation in life, she showed all the Girl Scouts how to do the same. Girl Scouts have grown from those first 18 girls to 3.7 million members. It is the largest educational organization for girls in the world and has influenced more than 50 million girls. This just shows that even though her life ended, she is still resilient because she created such a huge organization and established an incredible legacy even while fighting cancer.
These two women are two of the most inspiring women I can think of. They both went through the toughest of times, and still never gave up hope. And that is part of the reason why I think they made it through. Juliette Gordon Low created one of the biggest organizations in America today, and at the same time, was struggling with breast cancer. Even though she lost the tough battle against breast cancer, in the end she is resilient because she was so successful, and still is. My grandma is resilient because even at an old age, she went through breast cancer and is better then ever, and free of cancer. These two women rode this wonderful roller-coster that we call life in such an inspiring ways. We should all learn from these two amazing stories and grow from them, just as Anita Ballard and Juliette Gordon Low did.
