Tenacity

I wish I could add pictures to the definitions of some words in the dictionary. If I could I one to tenacity it would be a picture of Emily in her cap and gown.

When Emily graduated from high school and started at Biola in 2011, Jim had not been dead very long. Not only was she lost in her grief but she was diagnosed with ADHD. She was overwhelmed in many ways as she had a roommate whose father was a professor at Biola and Natalie was able to enjoy a relationship that Emily was painfully denied.  The depression and sorrow was so deep that Emily actually experienced anhedonia. Anhedonia is characterized by a marked lack of interest or pleasure in activities, and can manifest as a sense of numbness or emptiness. It’s a core symptom of depression and can be debilitating, leading to feelings of apathy, detachment, and a lack of motivation. But all that was masked by the pain and immediacy of grief as well as learning to cope with a diagnosis of neurodivergence. Getting out of bed was a chore.

She started as an art major and really wanted to enter ministry as a career too. We had always encouraged our kids, especially our daughter, to have a back up plan with their college careers. After several tries,  major changes, mental health and medical leaves, Biola ended up not being the right place for Emily.  Her trajectory took a detour and led her to try ministry. She worked full time, often at more than one job and she found her life partner, Connor.

In 2018 Emily found her way back to college during her second stint at Starbucks, using the program offered by the coffee company. College was online and at ASU, in another state, more potential roadblocks. She took courses online and and basically started over. Another uphill climb as some courses counted and others didn’t as well as trying to get guidance in such an anonymous forum. After she left Starbucks, Em moved to out-of-state tuition and her age also kept her from getting financial aid, which was another hurdle to overcome. The point is that, in spite of all the things that might cause another to lose hope or give up, Emily pushed through all the setbacks, hardships and obstacles and finished her college degree. She graduated summa cum laude from the Ira B. Fulton School of Engineering with a degree in Graphic Information Technology with a minor in Art from the Herberger School of Design.

My daughter is smart. She is creative. She is funny. She is multi-talented. She is a renaissance woman. She is tenacious.

Her dad would be so proud. You can already tell that I am!

Emily, you deserve every happiness. I am so glad you tried your best and didn’t give up.  I knew you could do it. Keep going.