“Strength does not come from doing what you thought you can, it comes from
doing what you thought you could not”
Liz Murray, a woman born to unmarried parents, who were both drug addicts and infected with AIDS. She thought she could never make herself stand next to the person on the pavement and NOT feel so far beneath them.
Liz’s parents were hippies and just not cut out for parenting and their drug addiction left the family destitute. As a young girl, Murray lived with her sister, their drug-addicted, schizophrenic mother and their father. She was taken away from them and put under foster care. She used to show up at school ( if she ever showed up ) covered in lice and smelling. She was bullied in middle school which eventually led to her dropping out altogether and running away from home. For two years Liz lived on the streets, sleeping on the Subway stations of New York, eating out of garbage bins and begging for money. Her mother had been taken away for rehabitiliation, her father had abandoned her, Liz was all alone in the world.
Then her mother died of AIDS, Liz lost the one person in her life she truly loved. She describes it as a “slap in the face”. It made her realize that one day she will die and things may not have changed for her.
She decided to go back to school. She was determined to complete four years of high school in two. She studied hard, was the first one in and the last one out in her school. She started making great progress and was a “straight A” student. Then her teacher took her and nine other students from the school to visit Harvard where Liz found herself admiring the brilliant architecture. She decided that she wanted to go to Harvard. But the problem was financing her college education for she had no collateral to support a student loan. This problem was solved when New York Times announced their scholarship of 12000$ an year for four years to six best essays. The subject was “describe an incident when you overcame a tough situation to achieve your goals”. Liz won. She also graduated at the top of her class of 150 students.
When asked about what kept her motivated, Liz says that she was so pushed back that there was nowhere but forward to look.
There is so much we can learn from her. Yes life is difficult, but beyond those obstacles lies the greatest prize, the bounty of a lifetime.
Her story also shows that if we truly want something the whole Universe conspires to bring it to us. The NY Times scholarship presented itself but it was Liz’s deep burning desire to succeed that made her take it.
So keep dreaming, keep working no matter what for you will win.
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