How did jeanette walls become successful?

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Jeanette Walls is a remarkable woman who overcame the chains of poverty to become the successful journalist/ author she is today. Her story is filled with heartache and triumphs alike stemming from her loving but very dysfunctional parents, Rex Walls and Rose Mary. She is inspirational because she proves no matter how bad of a situation you are in, if you believe in your self and are willing to work hard, your circumstances will not define you. My purpose in this paper is to discuss her resilience and self-governance that was ultimately the recipe for her success. Her siblings also play a large part in her story line and I believe she would not be where she is today if she didn’t fight alongside her older sister and younger brother.
Jeanette’s parents were very free spirited and carefree about many things, least of all their children. Her mother’s ambitions were mainly to become a famous artist and her father’s mainly included drinking as much alcohol as he could get his hands on, and in the meantime becoming a successful entrepreneur. Her father was not exactly very concerned with feeding his family properly, and he often took all the money her mother would make teaching. “I’ve got a houseful of kids and a husband who soaks up booze like a sponge… making ends meet is harder than you think (Walls 197). They often went hungry and because of her parents being so neglectful she, along with her siblings, became their own parents. Her self-governance was astounding at such a young age and this was a key to her success later on in life. She had always been very aware of her surrounding and growing up her family was always on the move, always on the run. They eventually settled in Welch, West Virginia and this is where her independence ...

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...ve one. You never had much going for you except that you always worked hard” (Walls 270). Her mother’s words ring true. Despite the emotional neglect and abuse she had suffered, Walls persevered and became very successful with a good combination of self-governance and resiliency. It is important to note that the complete opposite outcome could have occurred. She could have become overwhelmed with how much she was allowed to get away with growing up… possibly becoming pregnant or becoming homeless like her parents at the very least! She could easily have let her experiences as a child make her a bitter and miserable person. She did not allow that to happen and is a wonderful success story and proves that the circumstance you were born in do not define you as a person or your future.

Works Cited

Walls , Jeannette. The Glass Castle. New York: Scribner , 2005. Print.

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