Challenges I have Overcome

I am in the 2 percentiles in what doctors describe as “The Clinical Growth Chart”. Percentiles are measurements that show where a kid like myself is compared with other kids as they grow. Comparing is the world we live in today but as a kid, these comparisons are not only difficult but a challenge that I had to overcome. Being small is not terrible but when you are a boy and you're in the 2% range, many things become a challenge to someone like me.

In sports, making friends and just how people perceive a shorter, smaller person. My doctor gave my parents a possible fix and said “growth hormones” for Luke, this could help him a lot. But my parents discussed this with me and they told me “God made you the way you are and he’s made you wonderful, to take these hormones is telling God he made a mistake and God doesn’t make mistakes”. My parents told me that "everyone has a challenge, some more than others but those challenges make us stronger, you will learn how to grow and become a stronger person through these challenges". I admit that I did not understand what they meant until I started playing sports, moved to a new town, and was pushed by my parents to do things I honestly did not want to do because I guess I was too comfortable doing whatever my normal routine was every day. But normal was not good enough, especially for my dad. He did not want me to do the normal day-to-day things that everyone else did. He wanted me to be different, I can hear him now telling me... "Don't Do What Everyone Else Does Because Those Are The Things That Usually Won't Make You Different And Won't Help You Grow". So I began doing some things that others around me were not doing (mostly community service stuff and at an early age challenging myself to play up in sports despite my size, oh and working at the deli).

I understand who I am and how God has made me and because of that I am ok with my size, actually, there are a lot of things my friends ask me to do because they’re too big to do them😊. I know I always need to work harder because I’m at a disadvantage when it comes to my height and the perceptions that are drawn because of it. I have not only overcome this challenge but have excelled in athletics – competing at a high level even when I was 3-5 years younger than the other boys (for example cross country running, ^3rd grader competing against 5^th thru 8^th graders). In addition, I was 1-2’ smaller in height and much smaller in overall size in basketball yet I have not only made the teams but have been a starter on my travel teams. Teams that I have competed in where there were only 10 available spaces out of 30 boys.  I have tried to always have a positive attitude and work on the things that are challenging or do the things I don’t always want to do because my dad tells me that those are usually the things that are best to do.