安东尼·罗伯斯是打破障碍并有勇气这样做的典型代表. 罗伯斯生来就只有左腿，这给他带来了很多困难, 然而，在他母亲无尽的支持和养育下, no obstacle could pin him down.
周四，Robles作为今年HYPE Career Ready®项目的第一位主题发言人，分享了他鼓舞人心的故事.
Wrestling with life
从出生前开始，罗伯斯的生活就充满了挑战. 罗伯斯的母亲很年轻，发现自己怀孕时才16岁. 不过, 当他的生父发现他怀孕后，他就离开了，再也没有出现在照片里. When Robles was born, neither his mother nor any doctor beforehand had suspected him of missing a leg; it was a shock to all. 在做了一些检查后，医生告诉她罗伯斯失去了右腿，据他们所知，他会没事的.
“成长, 我知道我和别人不一样，但我的家人从来没把这当回事, missing a leg, never an issue,他说. 从来都不是什么大事，但那似乎只延伸到罗伯斯家的墙壁. “直到我走出家门，别人才知道这是一件大事，”他说.
He found going out into public, even as simple as running to the store, drew a lot of attention and stares from both children and adults; school wasn’t any better. “当我走过大厅时，孩子们会窃窃私语，有时还会大笑或开玩笑. A lot of times I would go home crying.” His mother was there to uplift him.
“我问妈妈为什么，她说了两件事:‘你没毛病. You were born this way for a reason. You just have to wait to find out what that is. And never let your challenges be an excuse.带着这种心态，我想办法给自己设定更高的标准.”
因此, at the age of 14, 罗伯斯内心的火焰被点燃了，他决定在没有通知母亲的情况下参加摔跤队的选拔. 这成了他的激情所在，无论如何，他都要去追求.
The road of a champ
When he came home from his first practice, Robles was scratched, bruised and bleeding, yet it was the most alive he said he’d ever felt. 他恳求他妈妈允许他报名参加这个队, 虽然费了好大劲，她还是同意了.
“我觉得摔跤是我的使命，摔跤是我应该做的事情，”他说.
而罗伯斯则有宏伟的计划和愿景，想要一面墙都是奖牌, trophies and ribbons, 他操之过急，忘记了这个过程中的几个重要步骤. 首先，他实际上从来没有摔过跤. 第二，他的教练从来没有训练过只有一条腿的人. 因此，每个动作都是新的，必须从头开始创建. 在整个赛季中，罗伯斯努力工作，但收效甚微. 他今年的最后一场比赛让他怀疑是否继续摔跤，因为在比赛结束后，当他和对方教练握手时, he could see and hear the pity in his voice. Robles then entertained the idea of quitting.
“At that point, I was ready to give up. 我努力工作，但没有得到我想要的结果. I could just quit. 但我脑海中有个声音一直在说:“你是不可阻挡的。.’”
他一直努力学习，直到高中毕业, 罗伯斯是两届高中州冠军和全国高中冠军. The next step was college.
Despite Robles’ ultimate success in high school, 没有大学或教练招募他，因为两个因素:大学摔跤最轻的级别是125, which was 30 pounds more than what Robles weighed, 因为少了一条腿，他们不相信他能切下来. 罗伯斯最终“忍气吞声”，决定在亚利桑那州立大学继续深造. He got a night job, went to classes, and wrestled.
第一个大学赛季结束后，罗伯斯的教练们把他叫到办公室. 他们告诉他，基于他的努力工作和结果, 他需要辞掉夜间工作，集中精力学习，因为他们给了他全额奖学金.
But when there are ups, there are downs. 第二年，罗伯斯得了一场重病，让他休息了一个多月. 如果这还不够，罗伯斯的继父离开了他的母亲和年幼的兄弟姐妹. At that point, he wanted to give up. 但即使在他想放弃自己的时候，他的教练也没有放弃他.
But he pushed through to great success.
Fast forward to the nationals, going up against the former champ, Robles was scared but he pushed that aside, put his all into that match and came out a winner. In his final year, he went undefeated at 36-0, 成为三次PAC-10冠军，并赢得了梦寐以求的全国冠军.
Biggest takeaway
“我不只是在垫子上摔跤，而是在生活中摔跤. 在某种程度上，你们所有人都可以这么说，”罗伯斯告诉伯格学院的学生们.
“When we’re wrestling through life, 澳门银河网站很容易忘记自己的目标，看到的都是障碍. 但问题是，‘我现在该如何反应?’
“Each and every one of you has these challenges. 我鼓励你专注于自己的目标，并提醒自己:“我势不可挡。.’”
— by Bailey Walter, ’23