MY SPEECH: Good afternoon! Well I want to congratulate all of you because you are already a success for coming here today! I wanted to start with a story about a little girl: She was 13 years old lived with abusive parents that were addicts. She had endured many forms of abuse. She finally ran away. After hitchhiking over a hundred miles to find her sister that lived in Reno NV. She was alone on the streets looking for somewhere to sleep. She had not eaten for 3 days and was weak. She finally found a dumpster off 4th street with an old broken down couch to sleep on. Shivering and curled up in a ball she prays to God to protect her and help her find her sister. I was that little girl. Hello my name is April Harwart. And that was only the beginning of my struggles. I never attended high school. I became pregnant at 15 and by the age of 18, I had two children and was divorcing an abusive husband. I was getting on my feet, had a job and a home when I met my second husband. I worked as a mechanic and ran my own business. The cycle of abuse started over again. He became controlling and abusive, both emotionally and physically. I left when pregnant with my fourth child after severe abuse and trauma. I remember one day in 2006 I made a good list and a bad list. My Bad list was very long and had thing like I was fat I wasnt good enough, smart enough… you get the point, and I had only one thing on my good list: I have my kids... I cried and challenged myself to make my good list longer than my bad list, and you know what I made my bad list go away. Things didnt get easier on the contrary it got harder, but it was my perception of the events that changed. I found the positive in every situation and use it to better myself. I found the positive in the abuse and homelessness. That changed my whole life right there…I was no longer a victim. I went to school. I believe continuing my education has already and could only continue to positively impact my life though. I think George Washington Carver said it best: “Education is the key to unlock the golden door of freedom.” I was not free due to the lack of knowledge and my own low self-esteem. At first I did not feel as if I was smart enough or that I had the skills. I may not have had the skills just yet, but I have the passion to learn. I obtained my GED with a perfect score and my Associates degree in Radiology with honors.( single with four children) 2011. I am currently attending college to complete the pre recs for acceptance into a Physician Assistant program. Educating myself was not really about the degree, or a job, it was about discovering who I was. This is also opened up the opportunity to have met a wonderful husband. He and his wonderful family took on my four children and I with open arms and nothing but love. I know I would not have been the person he needed if I hadn’t become the person I needed. The amount of great things that will come out of bettering yourself is endless. I wasnt going to school with the thought I was preparing myself for a healthy marriage, but I was doing that unknowingly as well. My past had a lot to do with my failures and my success. I consider My past is my greatest asset. The pain, homelessness, abuse that I endured helped me keep going. No matter the stress, class load, lack of sleep, back pain from working 32 hours in two days straight to support my four kids, it was easy. I also changed my perception about the stress and events. Once I knew the pain of being alone, hunger, abused, in physical pain I couldnt complain. We have to give ourselves more credit. We as women to be single mothers and a provider and to better ourselves is a feet worth greatest recognitions! I want to applaud all you that have and are doing it! Now, if you are like me in college raising a family or you want to get back on the horse let me l tell the secret to being successful: Be passionate in whatever you are doing put your heart in it and be passionate, second, Sacrifice. “Be willing to sacrifice what you are for what you will become!” Yes I said you have to sacrifice more than you already do. If you want something bad enough and are passionate about it you have to clear your agenda of all the distractions i.e. Facebook, cell phone, favored TV show, your own negative thought process…… Whatever keeps you from achieving your goal? I think of it like breathing, if you are having an asthma attack what do you think about? Facebook, or what so in so said about you, NO, you are only looking to find air. Make your goal your air. And fight to breath!!! A little foot note: dont let what others say affect you, let me give you an example of my 13 yr. daughter, she was at school as a cheer leader doing her best with her squad, some other girls being rude, saying hurtful things.. bullying we all know is a problem, and the other young girls were frowning and the words hurt, but with a smile my daughter said “well I wouldnt doing my job right if I did have haters” and walked away. They had nothing to say after that, so I ask you to don’t worry about what others are saying and teach your children this, we are always going to have haters, so don’t let them dump there negativity on you nor let it stop you from your passion!!!! Lastly, the pain, the sadness, depression is only temporary Once it is gone it is replace with something else….strength, knowledge…. So I challenge you to learn from the pain and never give up find the positive! Quitting is permeate, you will never know what you could of done or who you could of became. I am so glad Susan B Anthony didnt quit. She fought for over 70 yrs, yet most bachelor’s degrees are only 4 yrs, but if you want to be a doctor you spend more like 17 yrs to your studies, and that seems ridiculous to most, but over 70 yrs she fought. If she had given up I wouldn’t as a woman be able to stand here today and be free to speak. One of my Favorite quotes from -Albert Einstein, Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop Questioning. Question yourself! Get to know yourself, and why you do the things you do. Knowing yourself better is when you can change what isn’t working for you. What isnt working for you??? And change it! People ask me how I kept going, well ..When life gets you down. Just keep swimming, swimming, and swimming what we do…. Just keep swimming. Another one of my favorite quotes from-Dory from Finding Nemo Just keep going, never stop, when you think you can’t read one more page, read four, when you think you can’t put in one more job application put in five….. Real quick I wanted to tell you about a young woman J.K.Rowling she had a pretty goods childhood, but her struggles started after school. Her passion was to be a writer. In December of 1990 J.K.Rowling lost her mother, who died of Multiple Sclerosis. She was very close to her mother, and she felt the loss deeply. In 1991 she was married and had a daughter. After a couple of years, the couple split after a fierce argument; she and her daughter were thrown out of their house. In Dec 1993, Rowling returned to the UK, moving to a town in Scotland where she tried to finish her first book. She was surviving on state benefits and bringing up her daughter as a single parent… She is the writer behind the book series Harry Potter. She also took some of her painful past to help make her a success. She was very close to her mother, and she felt the loss deeply. Her own loss gave an added poignancy to the death of Harry Potter’s mother in her book. Decide what your definition of success is...and strive for it. J.k. Rowling wasnt striving for riches she was following her passion and the money came, I assure you if you follow your passion the money will come. Just remember you just need three things to be successful, a passion, to sacrifice, and remember the pain is only temporary.
Posted on: Thu, 05 Jun 2014 19:42:30 +0000