Manaii Beckwith '22 Recruiting Profile

    What’s the next step after falling? To cry? To wait for someone? To remain scared of falling again? All can be argued as weak, too dependent, or vulnerable, but for me, they were necessary. Throughout my years, I have been falling, but falling forwards.In elementary school, I was involved with competitive Taekwondo. Practicing three times a week, I was working hard to continuously reach the next level. The time came for my first completion; My master insisted my skills surpassed my age group so I was paired with a young boy. Within five minutes after our bow, I was taking hits and kicks left and right and eventually fell. As my tears obstructed my sight, I looked up and held intense eye contact with my master. He yelled, “Get up Beckwith! You’re losing honor!” A rush of anger moved through my body and time seemed to move like light once I realized I was on my feet and my opponent was not. It only took one roundhouse kick to the neck, my speciality, to win the match. I was embarrassed, but appreciated myself for crying. I embraced my weakness, in that moment, to know I never wanted to feel that again. I used my mistake as motivation calling that a skill.