"There's one memory that I always remember whenever I can't get something quite right. We were learning how to backwards roll and I was having tongs of trouble, for some reason I just couldn't get it. My teacher walked over to help me and she was with me as I struggled to do it multiple times.
"Then, after lots of instruction something clicked.
"I closed my eyes and took a deep breath and rolled. I did a great roll and I looked up and my teacher had the biggest smile on her face. She taught me that when things are tough, quitting isn't the answer, hard work is.
"Unfortunately, I wasn't always excited to learn despite what my experiences taught me. Around the time I earned a brown-white belt i stopped going to classes. I started making up excuses and I lost the excitement about going to Quest.
"It felt like I was dragging because lots of my initial inspirations had left or moved on. My favorite teacher went off to college. My friends left or earned their black belts and changed classes. I contemplated quitting and I almost did.
"My parents told me I had to push through even though it was difficult I needed to keep going. By that time I had been gone almost a year and I struggled for another year only going sometimes.
"I finally decided I had to get myself together and work hard if I ever wanted a black belt. So here I am today working for my black belt, I'm almost there, but only because of my parents."
-Paige Haddas
[Paige DID earn her black belt in October 2017 and we are supremely proud of both her AND her parents for their perseverance and understanding that obstacles are not a good reason to quit.]
