Erik Weihenmayer is one of the most inspirational people in the world because of what he accomplished even through his many challenges. Marty Kaminsky, the author of Seeing Things His Own Way, tells the incredible story of Erik Weihenmayer, the first blind man to reach the summit of Mount Everest. Readers learn about Weihenmayer’s difficult early life and also about how he prepared to climb the tallest mountain in North America, Mt. McKinley. The theme of this story is about fighting through challenges. One challenge Erik faced was that he went completely blind at the age of 13, but he still fought to do what he wanted and be a normal teenager, just one of the many challenges he faced and conquered. Much like other students at his school, he joined the wrestling team. To many people’s surprise, Erik excelled at it. He also became a skillful rock climber, scuba diver, and sky diver. In addition, he participated in basketball and attempted bike stunts, just like most other children his age. Normally, people who are blind would not engage in activities like basketball, rock climbing, or wrestling. However, Erik had a strong passion in sports, and he would not let his vision impairment stop him. …show more content…
She was killed in an unfortunate car accident, but Erik fought hard to overcome her loss. Her passing came just a short time after he went completely blind, making it even more difficult to get through. Erik’s father, Ed, recalls, “Facing his mother’s death and blindess so close together was difficult. But Erik never used them as an excuse for not measuring up and going for it.” To bring the family closer after the devastating loss, Erik’s father took his children on trips to places around the world the Batura Glacier in Pakistan and Machu Picchu in Peru. These journeys sparked Erik’s appetite for adventure, and he knew that his disabilities would not stop him for
Chapter 7: In chapter 7 Krakauer talks about how Everest has changed from a professionals trek to anyone's trek. He explains that many inexperienced people have climbed Mount Everest with the help of sherpas and guides. He also mentions about the determination of Everest and how in some instances in history people who weren't allowed into Tibet or Nepal but they snuck in and managed to climb and summit Everest
This documentary portrays the life of wheelchair-bound individuals that are professional rugby players. A few of the players take the spotlight in this independent film such as; Mark Zupan, Joe Soares, and Keith Cavill. These particular individuals were chosen as the icons of this movie because of their phenomenal spirit and determination. The most heartfelt and inspirational story was of Mark Zupan who plays for the United States Quad Rugby team. He was the victim of a tragic car accident provoked by his best friend who was driving while intoxicated. This misfortune left him paralyzed from the waist down while his friend was unharmed. Zupan is an amazing individual that was able to forgive his friend and still involve him in his life. He
When I was growing up, sports were always a tremendous part of my life. I participated in soccer, lacrosse, and football as a child and I never knew how lucky I was to have the opportunity to be apart of these activities. I rarely took into account the struggles children with disabilities encountered on an everyday basis until I volunteered for the Miracle League of Plymouth. The Miracle League gives all disabled children, regardless of their abilities, the chance to play baseball once a week. My buddy I was partnered with changed my perspective on life. Her name was Porscha, and was bound to a wheelchair, but always had a smile on her face. Porscha couldn't hit the ball on the tee alone, and needed my help doing so. Every time she knocked
Burfoot, Amby. "The Disabled Athlete Has an Unfair Advantage." Footloose: Amby Burfoot's Notes from the Road (24 June 2007). Rpt. in The Olympics. Ed. Tamara L. Roleff. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2009. General Onefile. Web.
The novel "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer, he writes about an experience that changes his life when Outside magazine asks him to write an article about the commercialism of Mount Everest, he knew from that moment that he needed to climb the mountain. But of course his expedition does not go as expected. On May 10th Krakauer reaches the summit after a extremely stressful and treacherous trek up, but only to have to scale down the mountain with his team in one of the most dangerous seasons in the history of Everest. Many things went wrong when they came down the mountain and throughout this book, Jon attempts to evaluate what exactly happened and how things went wrong. He researches and figures out every person actions on that mountain. He has speculations about the failures of the expedition, and blames the catastrophe due to a series of little
In “People Like Us”, the writer talks about tolerance and diversity in the United States. America has for a long time been cited as one of the most diverse countries. Upon investigation of that statement, one will find that it is a fact, for the country is filled with millions of individuals from different ethnic extractions, political affiliations, religion, socioeconomic status, personalities, interests, etc. However, according to “People Like Us”, instead of the population of the country uniting in its diversity and using that as a strength, individuals are trying really hard to distance themselves from others who are not like themselves, and to band themselves together with those who are like them. David
The Special Olympics date back all the way to the year 1968. Many see these Games as a time to honor someone who is able to “overcome” a task, but author William Peace sees this as an insulting portrayal of people with disabilities. Peace is a multidisciplinary school teacher and scholar that uses a wheel chair and writes about the science behind disabilities and handicaps. As a physically handicapped individual, Peace is able to observe a negative portrayal of disabled persons. In his article titled, “Slippery Slopes: Media, Disability, and Adaptive Sports,” William Peace offers his own personal insight, utilizes several statistics regarding handicaps, as well as numerous rhetorical appeals in order to communicate to the “common man”
She started specializing in high school high jump and still maintained a “spotless academic record” (Newsmakers). When she couldn’t see the board or had trouble taking notes, Marla would hire a student to take notes for her or she would just record the lesson and take notes later (Newsmakers). After experience, Marla’s disability does not affect her that much. She still has some peripheral vision and can see blurs. When she was a child, she had to quit most sports, but then picked up new ones like track because she didn’t have to see as many small objects. While she was in school, some people felt sorry for her and felt that she could not do things, but that only motivated her to do better because she wanted to prove them wrong. In some ways, being blind is a good thing; it can be
Everest is an unbelievable mountain that has taken the lives of a number of the greatest climbers in history. It was my job to ensure that clients make it up that treacherous mountain safely. My name is Rob Hall. I was the main guide and cofounder of a climbing company called Adventure Consultants. My friend, Gary Ball, and I used to be professional climbers. Together we succeeded in climbing to the highest summit on each of the seven continents in seven months. This was our greatest achievement. After this, we decided to start our own company guiding clients up large mountains. In May 1992, we successfully led six clients to the summit of Everest. Unfortunately, Gary died of cerebral edema in October 1993 during an attempt on the world’s sixth-tallest mountain. He died in my arms and the next day I buried him in a crevasse. Despite the pain that his death had caused me, I continued guiding for our company and eventually led thirty-nine climbers to the summit of Everest.
Robert changed the narrator’s thoughts about blind people after he showed the narrator that he was like him. I relate to him because after I was in sports, although some teachers were still judgmental. The students treated me like one of them and looked over my “label” disability. My peers never thought of me as the EI student anymore, they saw me as an Athlete. Back to my thesis, Disability should not be looked at in one classification; it should be base on the individual student. My disability, which was later removed by the State of Michigan, was a blessing to me. My hard work paid off and I’m looking forward to what life begins to me in the next four to five years getting my Bachelors in Special Education, English Education, and Physical
Being blind would be challenging, but being kidnapped and blind would be even more difficult. Cheyenne Wilder a sixteen year old girl is blind and sick with pneumonia, she is waiting for her stepmom to return with her medicine. Suddenly someone climbs into the driver's seat and Cheyenne can tell it's not her step mom, Danielle and it turns out to be a boy named Griffin, he's shocked that Cheyenne was in there, Griffin just wanted the vehicle. Griffin panics and takes Cheyenne and the vehicle back to his home where Griffins dad, Roy takes the vehicle and asks Cheyennes father the President of Nike for a million dollars in return for his daughter. In the end Cheyenne ends up running away with Griffins help and calls the police and the police rescue her from Griffin's dad Roy who's trying to kill her. Cheyenne Wilder wouldn't of survived without being intelligent, strong, risky, and lastly resourceful.
Another example that reflects the first-person point of view is “I’m clueless on how to be cool.” “I’ve always told my friends that I like my grandmother.”
The Blind Side is a film that follows the life of Michael Oher, an underprivileged high school football player that is supported by an upper class family, the Tuohys, and taken into their home. They provide him with shelter and a bed that he says he has never had. As the Tuohys are driving down the street one night, they see Michael walking alone in the cold. Mrs. Tuohy tells her husband to stop the car and she lets Michael inside. The couple discusses later that night about whether it was a good idea or not to allow Michael into their home. They ultimately decide that they are doing what is best for him and they can sacrifice a little bit of their life to help Michael. They support him in school, on the football field, and when he is
Abstract: The Special Olympics not only give special athletes athletic skills, they offer more opportunity, encouragement, and dexterity to survive in society than the public school system alone. To understand the differences and similarities between handicapped athletes and their non-handicap peers is the first step in creating a program that best meets the child's needs. There were no community programs that catered to the mentally and physically challenged, so Eunice Kennedy-Shriver created "special games" in her back yard for her handicapped child. Shriver established the Special Olympics in 1968. Today there are more than one million special athletes competing in 140 countries. There are some problems with relying on the public school system to seek a child's full potential in the special education programs. The Special Olympics, however, have found an effective method of preparing children, teens, and adults for society through sport. The diverse selection of sports, their rules, and physical demands, is an advantage when there is a huge range of disabilities. There is a program offered for almost everyone. People who benefit from these games range from the athletes themselves, the officials, coaches, caregivers, parents, to the spectators and on-site first aid staff. Mrs. Kennedy-Shriver said this in regard to special athletes, "through sports, they can realize their potential for growth." Over and over this fantastic organization has demonstrated integrity, good sportsmanship, and goal oriented programs that work!
Disability sports was initially created to help rehabilitate war veterans, since then it has become extremely popular and occurs across the globe. Historically, disability sports has not received very much attention, to this day it is taken less seriously than sports played by able-bodied athletes (DePauw). This calls for a change, disability sports should be taken more seriously because it brings awareness to disability, forces those able-bodied to redefine its outlook on disability, and encourages those disabled to accept and think positively about their disability despite the standards set by society.