Introduction

This capstone is a visual and descriptive representation of how something so important in my life, that I have spent well over 100 hours working on in the past 4 years, has shaped me into the person I am today. Not only is this to show how martial arts will shape my future, but, also how it can benefit thousands of others if they give it the chance to.

I started taekwondo when I was seven years old, just to be able to go to the same after-school care that my friends were going to. After a couple of months, they all quit and I quickly realized how important martial arts had become to me. I decided that I was going to continue my training until I achieved my goal of becoming a black belt, whether my friends were there or not. 

During my black belt journey, there were many moments when I wanted to quit. But, my instructor taught me how important it is to persevere and have courage through the most challenging of times if you want to achieve your goals. Because of this knowledge, I have been able to utilize perseverance and courage in my day to day life. An example of utilizing the perseverance I learned is by continuing academic excellence and continuing to attend school even throughout the hardest moments of my life.

I am positive that I will continue to utilize all of the skills I have learned from taekwondo in my future dreams of becoming a first responder, specifically a firefighter or police officer. Not only is the training to pursue either career very grueling, but I know it is going to be difficult to deal with the mental trauma that both careers will entail. However, utilizing the skills I have learned from martial arts will ensure that I successfully achieve all of my future goals and endeavors.