Kaitlyn Castaneto

Period 0

Oct. 9, 2022

PIQ

Describe the most significant challenge you have faced and the steps you have taken to overcome this

challenge. How has this challenge affected your academic achievement?

The most significant challenge I have faced is letting toxic people have a hold on me and drain

the positive energy out of me. There was a time in my life when I felt like I was surrounded by some

people who were suffocating me with their negative energy. Being around these certain people brought

my mood down significantly and I didn’t realize it until I was at a low point in my life. I was emotionally

affected by how these people acted around me and towards me, I felt like every little thing I did could

trigger them to act pessimistic towards me. I had to overcome this challenge by standing up for myself

and cutting these people out of my life. It took a lot of courage in me to discontinue certain friendships in

my life because I have been friends with them for a long time and I thought that we would be friends for a

while. Instead of staying in these toxic relationships, I had to put myself and my mental health first. This

was a tough action to partake in but I knew that it had to be done so that I could focus on achieving my

goals.

This challenge affected my academic achievement negatively in the beginning because the

unhealthy relationships I was in were draining. I couldn’t focus in school because I was more focused on

making other people happy and forgot to think about myself at the moment. After making the choice to

leave this negative energy behind I was able to find the motivation to work and focus on school again. I

was able to make new friends and was guided into the right pathway to reaching my educational goals

with their help. Being able to stand up to these people made me a stronger person because I know now

that I shouldn’t let anyone bring me down because they didn’t support me.