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Grit : the power of passion and perseverance
Grit : the power of passion and perseverance
Grit : the power of passion and perseverance
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Grit, persistence, and resilience are three things everyone needs to have in order to live to your highest potential as a person. In the book “Hillbilly Elegy” by J.D. Vance, he takes you into his rough hillbilly lifestyle that he grew up in. From almost dropping out of high school to his parents having drug problems to graduating college at The Ohio State University. All his struggles have truly defined who he is a person and how that led to him redefining the hillbilly lifestyle. Throughout the book, J.D. gets challenged with adversity and we begin to see how much grit, persistence, and resilience he really has in order to get where he really wants to be.
Although my life has been completely different from Vance’s life, we both share some adversity we have had to go through in order to get to where we
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In order for him to be able to attend college and being able to have financial support, he had to work three different jobs at once and on top of it all do every little piece of school work. Some college kids do not even have a job and still struggle to find time to study and complete all the necessary work. Working three jobs and finding time to complete his school work took a lot of persistence in order for him to accomplish this difficult task. Granting that his struggles have been a lot worse, I had to work two different jobs throughout my high school's years in order for me to pay for half of my college expenses. Working two jobs at once in high school on top of the work we had to do to pass all my classes was challenging enough. I could never imagine working three jobs while completing all his college work. The amount of persistence needed to complete his task is insane. Being persistent is one of the most important things you need in order to get through adversity and Vance does a superb job handling this, way better than I ever
After reading Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt and The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls, I observed that both these texts share a few similarities in the way the authors portray the difficulties their characters have to face, in order to get to where they are now. After researching a few rags to riches stories and using Slumdog Millionaire and The Pursuit of Happyness as my primary sources, I found out that successful individuals from harsh backgrounds shared similar complications, yet they had the will and perseverance to get to where they are now. They faced difficulties such as dealing with poverty and hardships of everyday life, struggling to overcome the effects of addiction and abuse. They found ways to overcome these difficulties through things like having some form of education, and utilizing their knowledge, to manipulate opportunities to their advantage in order to bring about success.
Do you think you would be able to persevere through many difficult obstacles wihout giving up? In True Grit by Charles Portis, Mattie Ross a 14 year old, her father was murdered by a man named Tom Chaney. Throughout the book she has to overcome many hardships and get through many obstacles to avenge her father’s death.
Your fate is not based upon anyone’s actions other than your own. Both Wes Moore’s experienced a circumstance in which they required a second chance. The decision of how to use that second chance is the vital part to succeeding, for the difficult part learning how to “distinguish between second chances and last chances” (Moore 67). Wes— The author— was given a second chance after joining military school. Although it was originally an unfortunate turn of events, Wes quickly learned the opportunities that surrounded him were to fade rapidly if he did not improve his way of life. This experience is an example of how a single person can set themselves up for success or failure based upon their individual
exis Hanson Professor Dosch English 101 3 May 2016 title In “The Downside of ‘Grit’: What Really Happens When Kids Are Pushed to Be More Persistent?”, Alfie Kohn; an author and lecturer, claims that not everything is worthwhile especially when going at a task for an extensive amount of time. He asserts that ‘grit’ (the passion and determination when pursuing long term goals) is becoming less persuasive and credible. Kohn states that grit can cause serious issues that have real consequences.
Encountering struggles in life defines one’s character and speaks volumes about their strength, ambition, and flexibility. Through struggles, sacrifice, and tragedy, Junior in The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie, adapts to survive difficult situations and faces his problems head-on. As he makes life changing decisions, adapts to an unfamiliar culture, and finds himself amongst misery and heartbreak, Junior demonstrates resilience to overcome adversity and struggles.
When people have a bad day or do something wrong, do they lack self-confidence? Although this may be true, people find ways to overcome it by having the right attitude. In both the song, “A Country Boy Can Survive” and the poem, “I, Too” it describes the confidence one needs in order to be successful in life and where it got them. Even though they came from different backgrounds, confidence carried them throughout their life to push themselves and never stop fighting for what they want even when they failed time after time.
Life is a struggle. All through their life meet an obstacle that they struggle to overcome, no matter what walk of life you will face struggle. Some struggles are ongoing and can only be overcome by the perseverance of those willing to fight to better themselves, and those they fight for. We see this in "The Street" by Ann Petry and "Angela's Ashes" by Frank McCourt. Wherein the characters presented struggled to overcome the obstacle of poverty, poor living condition, and malnutrition, and ultimately persevered. When met with an overwhelming obstacle to succeed and overcome it, one must persevere and only then through their actions and strength of character will they overcome the obstacle at hand.
Joe didn't live far from school so we would walk together. I spent most of my time with him and his family. They lived in a rented 3-bedroom home. Joe lived in the basement so his younger brothers each had their own room. A few years early their home had flooded. The basement was musky and half of it was unused because of the water damage. He slept on an old sofa and kept most of...
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian showed all of the problems that arose in Junior’s journey. From poverty and alcoholism to bulimic semi-girlfriends, he had so many excuses to stop, but the passion of his dreams pushed him forward. Like a hero, Junior continued, determined to do well and build a greater future for himself. An example that showed Junior’s passion for education and desire to achieve his goals was when he threw an old geometry textbook at his teacher: “My school and my tribe are so poor and sad that we have to study from the same dang books our parents studied from. That is absolutely the saddest thing in the world…My hopes and dreams floated up in a mushroom cloud” (Alexie, 31). Junior clearly understood his disadvantaged education and he was very upset about it. He longed for a better education. Junior was passionate about education, because it would allow him to achieve his goals and break the depressing pattern he was trapped in. Bravery and determination are caused by passion, and heroes are very passionate about their actions. Passion clearly drove Junior when he walked to school, since he said, “Getting to school was always an adventure…Three times I had to walk all the way home. Twenty-two miles. I got blisters each time” (Alexie, 87). Putting all of this effort into simply going to school, Junior must have had
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.
Vast majority of Indian reservations are suffering from chronic poverty. According to American Indian Relief Council, the reservations have been cited as, “Comparable to Third World”, in terms of living conditions. In the novel written by Sherman Alexie, entitled, “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian”, the main character, a fourteen year old, Native American teenager, which belongs to the Spokane tribe named Junior; stated that, “Poverty does not give you strength or teach you lessons about perseverance. No, poverty only teaches you how to be poor.” This indicates that poverty can turn an individual to become a pessimist. On the contrary, poverty is not a destiny. Instead, it is a source of power, an encouragement that through hard work, patience and dedication, a person can succeed in every aspect of life.
One can only achieve their dreams if they persevere because conquering obstacles strengthens one’s resolve. Junior decides to transfer from Wellpinit (a school on the reservation) to Reardan (an all white school outside of the reservation), only to prove that he can live up to his dream without giving up, unlike the other Indians on the reservation. This results in him losing his only best friend and facing many conflicts. Junior overcomes many of the obstacles that he faces throughout his journey by persevering through hardships, which help make him stronger. In the novel, Junior perseveres in spite of overcoming many of the obstacles that he faces throughout his journey. Despite the sacrifices that he makes and the hardships and struggles
What drives people to work hard? Where does determination come from? What causes us to want to make something of our lives? These questions are answered through two prominent themes that run through this book. In reading Sherman Alexie’s The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian, the character of Junior helps explore these questions through the power of expectations and hope. These themes give people drive, determination, and passion for their lives. When one or both of these important elements are taken away, that determination, passion, and drive goes with it.
If everyone thinks that without struggle, it is easy to obtain their goals that is entirely false. Struggle comes from the progress of our success and achievement. It is an indication that we poured all of our time and patience into the things we pursue. Jeannette Walls, the author of The Glass Castle, explain her struggles. She survives by finding foods from the trash can and earns money by babysitting, exchanging scrap metal, finding jobs, and from her parents. As a graduating student from high school, receiving my diploma is an indication that I ...
...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.