Examples Of Overcoming Adversity: Sonia Sotomayor

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Overcoming Adversity: Sonia Sotomayor Adversity is defined by the Merriam-Webster's dictionary as, “A state or instance of serious or continued difficulty or misfortune.” The Supreme Justice Sonia Sotomayor has overcome adversity many times in her life. One of the first adversities she encountered was at the age of 7 when Sotomayor was diagnosed with diabetes. She soon realized that “She would not depend on the adults in her life to keep her alive. Instead she gave herself her own insulin shots”(Barnes). This shows that Sonia had little support from the adults around her. It also shows that Sonia knew that depending on others would only get you so far. Also Sotomayor overcame the limits of her cultural, social, and class background. A quote …show more content…

First, the challenge of diabetes. Sotomayor told Robert Barnes, of the Washington Post, “It drove me in a way that perhaps nothing else might have to accomplish as much as I could as early as possible.” What can be pulled from this quote is that she saw this disease not as something that would hold her back from her dreams but something that would drive her harder to her dreams. Sonia also told Barnes that she strived hard to reach her goals before age fifty because she was afraid she would die early. The drive of fear and determination really helped push Sonia to the finish line. Next, her cultural and social background. Sonia overcame this by working very hard: “Sotomayor bought grammar books and vocabulary texts and practiced each lunch hour at her summer job”(Barnes) He goes on to tell us that not only did Sotomayor get better at english and close the education gap but was awarded Princeton’s top academic prize. The video by Bio.com tells us that at school she was a quiet girl and was one of the smartest people in a school filled with smart people. Sonia worked really hard to conquer this adversity so she could go into law. Overall, Sonia Sotomayor has faced a lot of adversity in her lifetime but she has overcome it with great

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