Jessica Watson's True Spirit

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Life is composed of dreams, elaborate to simplistic. Many people go after them with no hesitation, others are not as eager. Fear and doubt can lead most to not accomplish dreams or goals. Those who achieve their dreams put in copious amounts of work much like sixteen year old Jessica Watson. She documented her journey around the world, in True Spirit, to show herself and everyone else that anything can be accomplished with hard work and effort. Her voyage was not just rainbows and sunshine; she had an over whelming amount of backlash, but she persevered. Jessica Watson’s book, True Spirit enlightens readers about the background of herself sailing and positive book reviews by professionals show the impact she had on millions of people around the world.
Jessica did not have the conventional childhood. In her book, Jessica talks about her battle with dyslexia. “Overcoming dyslexia has certainly been a great lesson, showing me what you can achieve with some extra effort, despite whatever setbacks or handicaps stand in your way” (Watson 16). She did not dwell on that fact that she was different from the rest of her classmates. Dyslexia was never an excuse for her to fail. Another unconventional lifestyle Jessica lived was her home. She and her family lived in a motorboat for majority of her life. Living on the water in the family’s motorboat surrounded daily by every nautical thing imaginable made sailing and boating part of Jessica’s life (Watson 16). It was not as if Jessica magically wanted to start sailing; it was part of her life for years. Sailing is part of her whole family’s life, something to bring them together. Jessica’s childhood and adolescent years were not like the traditional Australian lifestyle but that is what s...

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... Watson." M/C Reviews - True Spirit: The Aussie Girl Who Took on the World by Jessica Watson. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Mar. 2014.
Lochhaas, Tom. "Why Sailors Die - The Most Important Safety Lesson." About.com Sailing. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Mar. 2014.
Martin, Jesse, and Ed Gannon. Lionheart: A Journey of the Human Spirit. St Leonards, N.S.W., Australia: Allen & Unwin, 2000. Print.
Mundle, Rob. "Kay Cottee 56: a Cruising Yacht Designed and Built by a World-renowned Sailor." Yachting May 2003: 88+. Student Resources in Context. Web. 13 Mar. 2014.
Sydney, Bonnie Malkin in. "Round the World Sailor Jessica Watson Arrives Back in Sydney." The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group, 15 May 2010. Web. 11 Mar. 2014.
Watson, Jessica. True Spirit: The True Story of a 16-year-old Australian Who Sailed Solo, Nonstop, and Unassisted around the World. New York: Atria Paperback, 2010. Print.

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