My Father ’ s Overcoming of Adversity
by Apollo Popowitz
never knew much about my
I father ’ s early life , as he didn ’ t really talk much about it . All I ever learned was that he had to overcome plenty of hardships while growing up and that his family was extremely poor .
“ I was born in Michigan , but don ’ t remember anything about that , so I grew up 25 miles north of Houston on the shore of Lake Houston . It was the countryside , had wild deer , wild pigs , some wild panthers , lots of snakes , a ton of mosquitoes and cockroaches . We lived in a house my father built , and that house was on a dirt road that was very bumpy and muddy . There were only 2 other young kids on the same street we lived in .”
My father described the poor conditions that he had to live in and it made me realize how lucky I am to be able to live the life I have . When I asked him what his earliest memory was , he said , “ My father wearing a gas mask to change out the septic tank in the school bus we lived in .”
This surprised me because I never knew that he lived on a school bus before .
Growing up , he aspired “ to escape from being poor and go to a fancy ivy league school .” He studied extremely hard at school and achieved many distinguished awards , such as several Gold , Silver , and Bronze Medals in Texas State Science Olympiad ( Chemical Analysis , Insect Identification , Physics ). He graduated Salutatorian of High School Class , with the 2nd highest GPA of the class .
The House That My Father Lived In
His hard work paid off as he got accepted to various renowned Universities , many of which were of the Ivy League . He attended Dartmouth College and majored in Engineering and Russian language . Before becoming a successful businessman , he worked at NASA and got to train astronauts .
Reflecting on my father ’ s early life , I realize how little I knew about his upbringing . It wasn ’ t until I asked him about his earliest memories that I began to understand the hardships he faced growing up in rural Texas . It ’ s a reminder to me of the sacrifices he made to provide for our family and the resilience that allowed him to overcome adversity .
7 | SLAS TIMES
The School Bus That My Father Lived In
My Father ’ s Business Card
My Father Graduating