Perseverance: a trait one has when they don’t stop trying even after difficult obstacles arise in one’s life. It’s a valuable trait, one that is necessary for anyone to be able to succeed. There are a lot of characters, both real and fictional, that display perseverance and set examples for everyone else.

 When I think of perseverance, I think of Riley from the movie Inside Out. This 11-year-old little girl who likes hockey and enjoys time with her parents faces a huge obstacle in her life: moving far from home. As soon as she arrives in San Francisco, California, she is already met with disappointment after seeing the small, beat-up-looking urban home she now has to call her own. And it doesn’t stop there; Riley is off to a bad start at her new school, she has to leave her hockey team and memories behind, and she feels like she is being replaced with another girl by her friend back home.

This domino of misfortunes at once causes a lot of confusing feelings for Riley, represented by the panicking of the emotion characters that “control” Riley’s emotions from behind the scenes. I too have had struggles with my mood, a challenging aspect to control. The memories (little spheres in the movie that capture memories in them) are being turned blue as once-happy memories become overtaken by sadness. Riley feels like she has to be happy for her family, forcing her to bottle up her emotions and go on without support. I similarly have felt like closing myself off to my family, not knowing the negative impacts it can have.

Things go downhill for Riley. The Sadness and Joy characters have gotten lost, so Riley can no longer feel either emotion and she quits her hockey team and plans to run away from home. Riley gradually falls into a depressive state. But eventually, Joy and Sadness return and Riley can express herself to her parents and use her emotions properly. Without expressing her sadness to her parents, Riley wasn’t ever able to get comfort for her feelings until the end. Once she properly expressed herself, Riley was able to persevere through her struggle and become her normal, full self again.

Riley is an example to me to persevere because I’ve had many ups and downs in my life emotionally and continue to go through them daily. She reminds me that even though I might feel lost and not able to be the best version of myself, it’s not permanent and I can still find my way back. It is also a reminder that reaching out and expressing my struggles to someone can be beneficial, and bottling up my feelings can careen me into a downward spiral. 

She is also a perfect example of overcoming abrupt change. Change in general can be difficult, but when it is sudden or negative it can be extremely stressful. I’ve moved home many times in my life, and it doesn’t get any less stressful every time I have done it: it makes my home life feel unstable and chaotic. Riley demonstrates that although moving took a toll on her, she was able to bounce back and adapt to her new lifestyle while also finding benefits. 

To conclude, that’s why I chose Riley from Inside Out as my inspiration to persevere because she goes through a lot of physical and emotional challenges at once and is still able to push through and find ways to make her life positive again. There are emotional battles I still face every day, but that doesn’t mean I have to let it control me and my life; Instead I can practice positive routines and expressions of my emotion to better myself.