3 People Who’ve Had it Harder Than You and Still Achieved Their Dreams

3 People Who’ve Had it Harder Than You and Still Achieved Their Dreams

Written By Brittany Kinsey

If you’ve ever questioned how much more you can take, sometimes it’s hard to remember that the human spirit is resilient. When life beats you up, it can be difficult to believe in your dreams. What does it take to be inspired? To beat the odds?  To change the world? To keep going? Here are 3 People Who’ve Had it Harder Than You and Still Achieved Their Dreams:

Malala Yousafzai is an education and women’s activist in Pakistan, where the Taliban has been notorious for banning girls from school. When Malala was 12 years old she began writing a blog under a false name, sharing her life and struggles. On October 9, 2012, the Taliban attempted an assassination where the 15 year old was shot in the forehead and neck while returning home on a school bus. Shortly thereafter the United Nations Special Envoy for Global Education launched a petition in Yousafzai’s name “I am Malala”. The main objective of this petition is, to ensure no child will be left out of school by 2015. On her 16th birthday which is now coined ‘Malala’s Day’ she addressed the UN with a speech stating, “They thought that the bullets would silence us, but they failed. And out of that silence came thousands of voices. The terrorists thought they would change my aims and stop my ambitions. But nothing changed in my life except this: weakness, fear and hopelessness died. Strength, power and courage was born.” You can see her speech in entirety here.

Ebony Oshunrinde– How does a 16 year old producer end up on Jay Z’s platinum album ‘Magna Carter Holy Grail’? Not to mention she has no producing credit under her name until the track ‘Crown’ was picked up by Jay. You dream it, evidently. Ebony Oshunrinde began to dream at the age of 9. She recalls watching a YouTube video of Jay Z and Timberland and knowing at that early age what she wanted to do with her life. She started with what she had, invested in some equipment and started learning how produce beats by watching YouTube videos. She sent the track to Travis Scott and he happened to be with Mr. Carter. Ebony also known as Wondagirl recalls the moment everything changed for her. She received a text from Travis Scott “I am going to change your life.'”  If you haven’t heard Crown, take a listen.

Latipha Cross has the story of triumph. Sometimes you are dealt a bad hand in life; Miss Cross’s story is the epitome of that. She was abandoned by her parents, abused by foster parents, and had 2 bouts of cancer, all before she graduated from high school. Latipha had one thing in her favor, and that was her athleticism on the track. Although she spent the majority of her high school career homeless, she continued winning championships in the 400. Her senior year she earned a scholarship to Eastern Michigan where she is currently enrolled and cancer free. Latipha has had a short documentary made in her honor, you can learn more about her here.

These three young people are teaching us, that, if we live our lives with a deep connection to purpose, we can not only change ourselves, but also impact and inspire others.