Adversity Essay

Despite the struggles we go through in the face of adversity, it is clear that ease

does not challenge us and that such adversity is required for self-discovery.

Adversity determines one's potential capabilities, strengthens personal values, and

gives us a feeling of self-worth.

Adversity can help determine what one is truly able to do. For example, as a student,

I moved through elementary and middle school with ease, generally bored by the

slow pace and simple curriculum. As in now High School, I now challenge myself by

taking rigorous courses. When I took AP English starting this year, I learned that I

truly will possess the ability for time-management and could persevere in pushing

myself to attain success. Without the hardship of this difficult class, I would never

have discovered myself competent enough for college coursework.

Besides defining capabilities, adversity also strengthens personal values. In Mark

Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, main character Huck continually

questions whether it is righteous and lawful to help a black slave escape. After

several adventures and close calls with his runaway slave friend, Jim, Huck realizes

that all humans deserve to be treated equally. Had Huck remained at home with his

prejudiced white, adopted family, and never experienced a series of trials and

tribulations with Jim, Huck never would have realized this concept of equality. He

would have remained narrow-minded, with a different set of values. Thus, adversity

sculpts moral character.

In addition to shaping moral values, adversity also establishes self-worth through

providing us with a sense of purpose. In the Kite Runner, Amir goes into Afghanistan

under the Taliban regime, as an adult, to rescue the son of his childhood friend,

Hasan. By rescuing Hasan's son, Amir relieves himeself of the overwhelming guilt he

had felt as a child who had watched Hasan get