Childhood of Abraham Lincoln: The Personal Legend

Walid Hussein
ESL 251
Essay 5 - Argument Essay

The Personal Legend
The Outlines * Abraham Lincoln childhood and how he found his personal legend since he was young * How Abraham Lincoln started to follow his personal legend inspiration in his youth and what he achieved in his early life. * What are the results for following his personal legend, and how he changed the whole world? * Conclusion that mention the difference between a person has a personal legend to follow it, and a person who just live normal and followed others inspiration. Personal legend is not just a term to describe a person who just follows his dreams, but the real meaning for the personal legend is, the soul of yourself that you need to understand, and to be able to communicate with it, to lead you for all things that make you happy and satisfied in your life. Life is a big journey and all people have the right to draw their dreams and wishes, the person who following his personal legend is, the only person who can achieve all his goals and dreams. For example, Abraham Lincoln the person who changed the whole world by his inspiration, when he found his personal legend that led him to be a president of the United States. When we speak about one of the famous and successful people who found their personal legend, there are too many, but when we speak about someone had changed the world with his inspiration and his personal legend, we speak about Abraham Lincoln, The 16th president of the United States. He grown up in united stated and his father Thomas Lincoln was a farmer, he used to own a few acres of land to plant it, during Abraham’s childhood he learned how to plant and helping his father in his farming work. He learned how to be responsible and supporter to his family. That made him strong physically and mentally, Abraham used to learn from his father personality, he was strong and very smart, and he used to learn from the nature all around him. He used to love nature and reading too, all these interests made him a strong thinker and helped him to find his personal legend that was leading him for helping people and serving his country. Later in his youth, Abraham started to follow his dreams and his personal legend, in fact that the time of his childhood there weren’t enough schools to educate people, in spite of the fact that schools were very expensive to join, these reasons never stopped Abraham from being educated and what his personal legend exist. He had had inspired by politics so he taught himself the law and started to read books about politics in general and law in particular to pursue a career in the politics’ field. After educating himself, he started to pursue his first career in the politics’ field as a lawyer. Without a doubt that was a very good transition that turned over his life from being a farmer into someone has a goal in the politics’ life. His personality and the education level that he reached helped him to success in the politics’ field, and helped him to start his first step in his new life and his way towards changing. He expressed his opposition about slavery and his determination to limit the expansion of that matter, which made him known, brought others’ passion to him, and allowed him to take place in congress to start his mission. During his journey into success he met his wife Mary Todd and he falls in love with her, she was very educated and attracting person, they got engaged, divorced then married. That made me remember in the Alchemist story when Santiago met Fatima and falls in love with her, the Alchemist taught him that true love never gets in the way of one’s Personal Legend. If it does then it is not true love but actually Santiago never forgot her during his journey and decided to go back to where he found his love after he found his Personal Legend. His enthusiasm toward improving and changing situations into better made the individual states and territories to decide whether they allow slavery, Finally the Law provoked slavery and allowed him to join the republican party which had had elected him to be President to the United States. In conclusion, the person who is looking for his personal legend should have a dream or a goal to led him into finding it, once you start looking to reach that dream, you keep struggling, stumbling, learning, and trying to reach your dream, but as soon as you find what is your Personal Legend wants to be or where it is exist, that makes you feel better in your life and satisfied with what you have reached. In the other hand many others prefer to take the easy way and follow others. For example, to be a baker or a shepherd, the baker earning much money than the shepherd does, however, there is others preferred to be a shepherd to enjoy their life, the nature, and the feeling of struggling for earning their money.