When I was 15 I was thrust into a situation which, quite frankly, severely disrupted my happy adolescence in New York. Coming into my own, I was suddenly dropped to the bottom of the social and academic ladder, and had to find a way to climb back up. Although I had not chosen my circumstances, I still retained control over how I was going to respond. Was I going to throw up my hands and go with the flow, or was I going to stand my ground and strike my own way forward, embracing the underdog status in the process?

Obviously, I chose the latter - no mystery there! But what I learned along the way, and how it has influenced my life up to today, may encourage and embolden those faced with their own underdog threshold moment.