Overcoming Adversity
True success doesn’t come from privilege. It comes from spirit. Bonnie St. John is a perfect example of this. If you believe the stereotypes of the world are true, you’d have a hard time believing how much success Bonnie has seen in her life as an Olympic skier. When life knocks her down, she gets right back up.
Bonnie St. John grew up a poor black girl from a broken home in San Diego. To make matters worse, she only had one leg. The other was amputated when she was only five years old. She had no money and no snow, but she wanted to be a skier. To her advantage, her mother encouraged this crazy dream.
People will tell you that black people never ski, swim, or play golf, but this is 100% untrue. Sure there are a few big names out there like Tiger Woods, but in reality, there are a lot of black people involved in these sports. One of Bonnie’s motivations from a very early age was to do her best so that others could be motivated by her.
A friend from school invited Bonnie to go skiing when they were both just children, and it changed her life forever. Bonnie St. John was the kid nobody liked. She was exempt from PE class, she rode a special bus, and she was teased at recess. Barbara Warmath was different, though. She didn’t tease. She encouraged.
To go on the ski trip with her friend that Christmas, Bonnie had only a few short weeks to overcome several obstacles. Embarrassment wasn’t an option for her. This was before the days of the internet, so Bonnie flipped through the Yellow Pages looking for inexpensive snow gear. Most of her gear ended up coming from the Salvation Army.
Skiing isn’t easy for someone with two good legs, so it’s no surprise that Bonnie had a horrible time getting started. Her prosthetic leg was a much bigger challenge than she could have imagined, and since she knew nothing about skiing when she acquired her gear, she was left cold and wet by her knit mittens. Bonnie wouldn’t trade this experience for the world, though.
Bonnie St. John later found the Ski Club where she was able to find appropriate ski gear and begin training to ski. Eventually, she began racing with other amputees. The more she raced, the more she enjoyed it. The more she trained, the more she wanted to be on the U.S. Olympic Ski Team.
We can all be successful, no matter what the challenge we face. Some people have harder barriers to break than others, and some people are more creative at breaking those barriers than others, but in the end, we all have the same chance. Never give up. Never let your dreams die. Get up when you fall, and have patience.
