Word Count: 1237

Draft: Final/Issue #1
[LIFESTYLE]
Mr. A: Barreling Through The Roller Coaster of Life
By: Ryan Jang 1A

Life for Ivan Atanaskovic is like a roller coaster. From the start of the ride there have been dips and
turns throughout the way, and even malfunctions occurred. It seemed that sometimes there would be
no end to the stomach wrenching plummets, however the roller coaster of life always went on and
Mr. Atanaskovic always rode along in the front seat. From a young age, Mr. Atanaskovic would
aspire to be someone who pushed through adversity no matter the situation whether it be through
his own means or with the help of someone else.
After spending a year of serving in the army on the coast of Albania, Mr. Atanaskovic, or more
commonly known as Mr. A, moved to Belgrade to attend the University of Belgrade of Faculty of
Sports and Physical Education. At his time there, he would get up at around 7 a.m. to attend class,
which consisted of both work on paper and work in the gym. To attain his bachelors degree, Mr. A
took exams to master and pass different kinds of athletic events. Not only that, he also had to take
courses like biomechanics, physiology and child psychology in order to become a physical
education (P.E.) teacher.
Even though his classes ended at around 2 p.m., Mr. A would have to wait many hours before
having an opportunity to rest. At around 6 p.m., he would head over to a Chinese restaurant to work
his shift to help pay for his college tuition. Finally returning home some days as late as 4 a.m. in the
morning, Mr. A would collapse in bed only to sleep a mere three hours and wake up at seven
oclock the next day. It seemed the only bright spot in his life was Tamara Atanaskovic, his futureto-be wife. Though he was tempted to quit again and again throughout his four years in college, Mr.
A knew that his priority was to get his degree in order to pursue his future career as a P.E. Teacher.
For four years I had the same routine over and over again, said Mr. Atanaskovic. I didnt have
two days off in a row during the whole four years. I would get home really late and wake up early,
and do a bunch of taxing physical activities. The hardest part of my experience was staying awake
during class because of the lack of sleep I had. During the third year, my time at the university was
really difficult and there were moments when I wanted to quit, but my wife, Mrs. A pushed me to
keep trying.
On top of all of this, Mr. and Mrs. A were attending university in Serbia during the Kosovo War. As
a result of the clash between the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the Kosovo Liberation Army
backed up by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Serbia was in turmoil. In 1999 as the
war came to an end and as Mr. A attended his third year at university, NATO provided air support

and as a result bombs were going off in areas near Kosovo. During this tumultuous time, everything
except essential services were shut down, and there were few people on the streets. Though Mr. As
university was temporarily shut down, he would still bike through the city in order to work.
Bridges were a common target during the war, so whenever I was biking through the city to get to
my job and came across a bridge, I would stop on one side, said Mr. A. I would take a deep
breath and bike across as quickly as possible, and when I got to the other side I would breathe a sigh
of relief. During those times it was pretty hard to live in Serbia. While I was traveling through the
city I would literally see bombing planes fly over my head. But, I had to get to my job at the
restaurant in order to pay for rent and food. I knew that the war was coming to an end soon and I
didnt want to deprive myself and Mrs. A of having access to our home and food.
During the turbulent times it was clear that Mr. As priorities were set straight because he knew he
had to provide for himself and Mrs. A. He was courageous enough to ride through the streets of the
city every day though his life was constantly at risk.
Though he finally graduated college in 2000 and the civil war came to a close, Mr. As hardships
were far from over. As a newly graduated student, it was hard to find a job fresh out of college. Mr.
and Mrs. As parents offered help, however they both wanted to be independent and overcome
problems by their own means. For three years they jumped from job to job, sometimes being fitness
instructors, ski instructors and personal trainers. Though they had their fair share of adversity, Mr.
and Mrs. A learned to keep their head up and keep their hopes high.
After we graduated we wanted to be really independent from our parents, said Mr. A. I guess it
was a matter of pride, and we just refused to get help from them even though it sometimes became
hard to pay our bills. I never wanted to go back to my parents and ask them for money. Instead, we
just persevered and kept pushing. If you feel sorry for yourself and hope that someone else is
solving your problems, you aren't getting anywhere.
Mr. As well-deserved break finally came in 2003 when he was accepted as a P.E. teacher at the
International School of Belgrade. All that hard work had finally paid off, and as a result Mr. A
worked for five years as an elementary school P.E. teacher at his school. The hard times in life were
past Mr. and Mrs. A, and the path ahead would only get better. A few years later they moved to
Indian Head International School in 2008, and three years later their twins were born. In the same
year Mr. and Mrs. A transferred to SIS, and the community was happy to welcome the two P.E.
teachers. Now with a family and a great job, Mr. A can say that it was worth going through the
tough times in order to get to his place in life he currently is in.
Even though it might not be what you planned, there is always something positive coming out of
your situation, Mr. A concluded. There is always a good reward that comes later in life. It might
not seem distant, but thats no reason to give up. Things develop as time goes by. I never dreamt in
my life that I would be sitting in this office with a wonderful family. I never gave up, so Im here
now.
Always looking towards the future, Mr. A prioritizes his children over anything else. After they
graduate from high school and experience their own walks of life, Mr. and Mrs. A plan to do charity
work and explore the world. Though Mr. A came into contact with truly arduous obstacles
throughout his life, because he was so persistent and had his priorities set straight, he can now say
that he loves his place in life. The roller coaster of life is still continuing upwards, all thanks to the
hard work he completed years ago.