An Experience from Your Own Life That Influenced Your Development

The greatest experience of my life that influenced my development was a tragic one. It was my mother’s first suicide attempt. While it was tragic, after a week or two in the hospital she came home. I am glad I have my mother today, but that event was a pivotal moment in my life. This experience has influenced my development by helping me create my first published poem, initiating my love for writing, and teaching me how to deal with hardships in life.

In the weeks that followed my mother’s attempt, I was dealing with a lot of emotions. I questioned her sanity, my role in her life, and why I wasn’t enough for her to stick around. The result of this emotional turmoil was a 20-line poem that was titled “Mom”. A few weeks after she had arrived home, my mom found the poem and sent a copy in to a publishing company that was taking submissions for a poetry book. It was accepted and published. Out of the publishing, I received a free copy of the book and a sense of accomplishment with my writing.

Once the poem had been published, I started writing on a poetry site, not to earn money but so I could get feedback on my other work. For many years, my school assignments and poetry were the only things that I wrote. Eventually, I started writing short stories and various articles. Eventually, a friend tipped me off about a service where you could write and sell your own books. I was not comfortable sharing my personal poems with my name on it (I wrote under a pseudonym on the poetry website) so I looked for other outlets. I started exploring my interests, including writing nonfiction and published those that I was happy with. It was around this time that I realized my potential for becoming a writer.

The final thing that resulted from my mother’s suicide attempt was the ability to adapt to hardships in life. I could not accept that my mom made her decision because she did not love me. In fact, I realized it had nothing to do with me. I learned that you cannot always prevent things and that not everything that happens around you is your fault. This also taught me that in times of hardship, it is best to relax and remember you cannot control everything. Then, deal with the situation at hand in the best way that you know how.

Any experience, whether tragic or enjoyable, has the potential to shape your entire life. Everything that happens has a butterfly effect, changing the lives of you and the people around you. While my mom’s suicide attempt was an unpleasant experience, I am glad that I could take that pivotal moment in time and make something of it. From that experience, I finished college term paper, published my first poem, cultivated my desire to be a writer, and learned to adapt in times of stress.