Can one change the world with a few words? Martin Luther King Jr., through his amazing ability for public speaking, fought for the rights of twenty million people in the United States of America. However, without the challenges King faced from racial discrimination, his public speaking might have never surfaced. Horace once observed that adversity allows talents or abilities to surface. Without the difficulties in life, the talents one could have would never appear. Adversity challenges people to escape their comfort zone, causes them to try, and gives talents they may have never appreciated or had. Children around the globe are being carefully guarded, watched and babied by their parents or care takers which shelters them from necessary life experiences in the world. There was a girl who had everything she ever wanted from her parents. Without begging she could ask her parents for anything and it would be hers. Without common household chores, punishments, and a “no” every now and then she got used to the luxury and accommodated to that lifestyle by expecting everything that she wanted. She was protected from the common life of a child and though she was excelling in other areas, life outside of those achievements was difficult for her because her friends and teachers didn’t give her everything she wanted like her parents did. She ended up changing schools at least six times because none of them could give her the habits that she was used to. Sheltering helps no one to succeed; those who hide in their shells for the rest of their lives won’t experience anything new. Many families cradle their children, protecting them from harm’s way. However, sometimes they are shielding way from the greatest opportunity of their lives. Bethany... ... middle of paper ... ...y stay with it are the ones who want and work for it. An increasing issue in the United States is that people get an “A” for effort. No one is pushed to work harder; many are giving the bare minimum and getting away with it. The nation is going to lose those who actually try to compete and have the actual ability from adversity. Talent may come natural, but hard work and commitment will replace natural talent without work. Adversity can’t bring any special talent out of those who are sheltered from it because it takes effort, which in greater amounts brings bigger accomplishments. Horace’s philosophy was correct. Challenging times can uncover the most tremendous of talents. When put to the test there are really two options and those who choose the dark tunnel always find a light at the other end because of the hard work put into making the achievements worth while.
She would mostly be alone and sit by herself being buried in books or watching cartoons. In high school she attended a program for troubled adolescents and from there she received a wide range of support from helping her get braces to helping her get information to attend community college. (59) Even with this she was already too emotionally unstable due to her family issues and felt like she couldn’t go through with her dreams to travel and even go into the art of culinary. She suffers from psychological problems such as depression and worries constantly about almost every aspect in her life from work to family to her boyfriend and just hopes that her life won’t go downhill. (60) Overall Kayla’s family structure shows how different is it now from it was in the 1950’s as divorce rates have risen and while before Kayla’s type of family structure was rare now it is becoming more common. This story helps illustrate the contributions of stress that children possess growing up in difficult homes in which they can’t put their own futures first they must, in some cases, take care of their guardian’s futures first or others around them. Again, this adds into the inequality that many face when it comes to being able to climb up the ladder and become successful regardless of where one
Statement: The ability for an individual to endure hardship is a testament to the endurance of human spirt. The ability to defeat hardship isn 't something everyone has but I assume that having that ability is something that should be an essential human quality.
Just like the sounding of your alarm every morning, adversities are ultimately inevitable in life. A Roman poet named Horace once said, "Adversity has the effect of eliciting talents which in prosperous circumstances would have lain dormant." Horace examines the role that adversity plays in the growth of a person’s character and understanding of burdens and times of difficulty. In these times, when adversities are encountered, one’s real character is exposed. The true depth and intensity of human nature is disclosed, but true talent is not always found. But, what is found, is the truth behind that person’s character, and the strength they truly posses.
The Roman philosopher Lucius Annaeus Seneca once said, “It is a rough road that leads to the heights of greatness.” Not everyone is always on the front lines in the battle of good versus evil. Ranks are filled with select soldiers that will take on the fight. Regardless, those willing to take the rough road, the steep hills, and the bad days are the ones that are truly filling the trenches. Anyone can be great; one way to acheive greatness is by studying this characteristic in others.
A person’s character is developed by the surroundings around them as well as their experiences. The Roman poet Horace quotes “…Adversity has the effect of eliciting talents in which in prosperous circumstances would have lain dormant…” I agree with the Roman poet, Horace, in that adversity has a way of waking talent from slumber. Adversity can encourage people in ways success and wealth cannot, as there is a benefit in the hardship. In Henrietta Lacks, by Rebecca Skloot, as well as Macbeth, by Shakespeare, adversity has developed the characters. From my observation, I strongly agree that experiences, such as hardship and danger, shape a person.
Most parents want the best for their children: financially, emotionally, and physically. However, sometimes there are external barriers that prevent full growth in these areas. These are the limitations that no parent feels comfortable speaking about because all they do is bring back memories of attempted success, yet never quite reached. In Tillie Olsen’s narration, I Stand Here Ironing there is a mother who is concerned for her daughter, Emily after a full nineteen years have passed. She begins to remember what her socioeconomic standings represented through the eyes of Emily, who is only now like a blossomed flower. There were struggles from both ends. Mother had to raise her daughter without the father, who had left due to poverty and mother also had to continue working a job to provide for food and for other survival necessities, which seemed to affect Emily’s happiness- which mother is now reminiscing about. Set during the Great Depression, the reader can understand that there will be financial shortcomings and many challenges that go along with this
There are many kids in this country that face a very difficult challenge each and every day. These are kids that live in dysfunctional families that sadly do not have the resources to manage a child. Instead they are more busy with getting food on the table and not losing all of what little they have already. Sadly for these kids school is their only thing they can count on to always be there. Sanctuary of School by Lynda Barry is a wonderful personal experience of what these kids go through on a daily basis. In this personal narrative she writes about the hard times she and her brother went through when they were children. She wrote of an experience where she snuck out of the house in the early morning with a feeling of panic that was relinquished
Jezza Neumann wrote the article “America's Poor Kids” in order to acknowledge the fact that one should care for their children. First, Jezza Neumann highlights the shortcomings of families who have known a much better life have to leave their homes, sometimes with just a few days notice. Then, she introduces three children that suffer from a chronically stressed household and ask to give them their point of view. Next, the author points out how these kids should not go through being homeless and it is too stressful for them to develop normally. Finally, the author implies that one should help the weak children by telling them that they are loved and to comfort them when the going gets tough. Through the use of pathos and logos the author makes
In most of my classes I’ve always heard that your parents are the most important people in your life and I truly believe this. People are affected by everything their parents say and do both in childhood and later on in adulthood. If a child is constantly looked down upon and made to believe that nothing they do is good enough, chances are they will grow up believing this and having low confidence. It is remarkable that a child David’s age fought himself from breaking down, dissolving into tears and giving up hope for a better future. David constantly worked towards or rather survived because of a dream, a dream t hat he was a prince and that every...
Success without adversity is impossible. Everyone in life has their ups and downs and nothing in this world is perfect. At some point in life, hardships begin to occur and that’s when the real test begins. Some people rise up and try their absolute best to take a stand against the challenge. Then there are others that would crawl back into their shells, crying for mercy. There should be no excuse for giving up or not putting in the effort. People are only successful in winning the battle of adversity when they are mentally tough. The intense game of adversity can be referred to football.
“The Sanctuary of School”, an essay by Lynda Barry, shows the troubles that she goes through as a child in elementary school and how she finds an escape. The author catches the reader’s attention by saying “I was 7 years old the first time I snuck out of the house in the dark” (Barry 721). It makes us want to keep reading to find out why she did it and where she will go. The story matters because she is telling about how she was neglected and unhappy in her home but finds a place of relief. “They were short on money and long on relatives” (Barry 721). Barry’s parents cared more about their finances than their children, forcing Barry and her brother give up their room to sleep on the couch. Barry writes about leaving early one morning to go
Orphans are often forced to mature faster than any other child. Often, they are exploited and used for their labor at a young age, ridding them of any potential childhood. Moreover, orphans lack a sense of belonging and have trouble relying on anybody other than themselves because the people they loved broke the only trust they knew, this leads to an isolation among them and a struggle with social development. Throughout the texts and films such as Anne of Green Gables, Orphan Train, Sidekicks, and The Outsiders we see specific examples of how orphans are expected to behave more maturely than children who grow up in a secure family setting.
...nk of as accomplishments that shaped who we are. Measuring ourselves against our personal achievents and the adversity we face is one of the many ways that we can examine our lives and potential. Adversity plays such a big role in our lives that it's almost invisible. We don't realize that practically everyday we face it and set it up to determine who we are going to be. Sometimes people are given a really crappy deck of cards and don’t know how to handle them. When were in a difficult situation, or faced with adversity we have two choices. Battle through it and become an even greater individual because of it or succumb to the situation and give up. It it all depends on how much determination a person has to fight through the adversity and in turn, become a better person.
Overcoming adversity is imperative. In fact, you can 't have the happiness and success you want unless you have adversity in your life and overcome it. It is essential for progressing into who you want to be. It shows you what you are made of. It teaches you more about yourself, how to approach what you want, and how to maintain the success that you have. Without it, you wouldn 't know how far you could go or how capable you are because you wouldn 't have anything to push you or compare to.
A woman who had lived an unsteady life throughout her childhood was negatively affected as an adult by the things that she had went through in her earlier years. In an article entitled “One Family 's Story Shows How The Cycle Of Poverty Is Hard To Break,” Pam Fessler stated that “Like many before her, she carried her poverty into adulthood, doing odd jobs with periods of homelessness and hunger.” The woman had realized that her children were being negatively affected by the unsteady lifestyle that they were living. The mother had said that her six year old daughter had emotional issues, which led to her making herself throw up after eating, running away, and talking about killing herself (Fessler). The little girl had been emotionally affected by poverty, which caused her to do things that most six year olds would not think about doing. The people who live in poverty as a child are more likely to struggle in adulthood. Poverty has many negative effects on children and tends to affect the way they grow and live the rest of their life as an