Overcoming Adversity Research Paper

Ryan Allen
ENG 1310
8/3/11

Overcoming Adversity

Throughout the world there are many different people who go through different trials and tribulations. Human history and existence today would not be what it is if we didn’t have to struggle a bit to get what we want. I feel this also applies to an individual person’s life too. Everyone has different struggles in their life, but it’s the ones that press on and fight through the pain that show their inner warrior. There are beautiful qualities about life, and other things that’ll make you wonder why you’re here. When these dark times come, and yes they will come, don’t run away from them and fold up and hide. Embrace them! Look at the situation in place and take everything in stride. Some
are better at this than others for various reasons. A determined individual’s will power can play an important role in overcoming adversity. People with an iron will tend to not be easily swayed by troubles that occur. Also the surrounding environment can persuade peoples in one way or another. Two kinds of environments can help choose how one overcomes adversity. Enriched environments can help people get through and impoverished environments can sway people to fall under pressure. Different types of situations additionally aid to overcoming adversity. Depending on how severely troublesome a situation is can also determine success or failure. Maybe you will be motivated to endure. Maybe you will be discouraged by the depth of a sticky situation. The choice lies with us all. I’ve heard many victorious stories about men and woman who have displayed amazing will power to overcome obstacles that have blocked their way.
The different obstacles and people who overcame them range throughout many different categories. There are many stories in the bible, movies, books, newspapers and on the internet where adversity being conquered can be found. A situation in which adversity was conquered was in, “The Straight Story.” Alvin was just leaving his town to visit his brother who was very sick. Alvin’s form of transportation was a small lawn mowing tractor, which was very odd. As he was leaving, a couple men who were in the shops came out and proceeded to tell Alvin how he would never make it, he was too old, and that he was crazy. Alvin gave them no attention and kept going. In the end, Alvin eventually made it to his brother off of his own sheer will power. This strong individual had everything and everyone going against him. The doctor’s said he was too sick, His friends and family doubted him and said he was crazy, he had almost no positive reinforcement. But Alvin had a goal set in his mind. He realized that all these years he and his brother were not resolved over an incident that occurred many years ago. He also realized that the time he had left on this earth is short and if was going to do something about this, he needed to do it now. After mentally evaluating everything that was currently going on in his life, Alvin knew this trip was a must. This is what powered Alvin’s will to overcome the many obstacles in his path. He made a goal, set his mind, and made every effort to see his
brother. “Every morning, when we wake up, we have twenty-four brand-new hours to live” This is a quote from the story, “Twenty-Four Brand-New Hours” by Thich Nhat Hanh. By saying this, this man has said something so simple that has amazing power behind it. We can put ourselves in whatever environment we want to be in in and it’s up to us what we make of ourselves in that environment, and every day counts. The area that surrounds you can have a great impact on choices that are made. In an enriched environment, good things can happen more often because of the reinforcement that has been installed in one’s character. When striving toward a goal or trying to overcome something, being in a positive area can help. In these environments are people who can positively influence you, resources that are helpful, and opportunity that allows you to progress as a human. In a bad environment, the opposite of an enriched environment will be the outcome. People there will make day-to-day life harder, and positive opportunity will be a lot less available. In these environments, things can happen in your control and out of your control but it’s up to you, with the new days that are given, how you will react to unexpected events. The environment you’re in doesn’t decide who you are. Success all depends on how bad someone really wants to overcome an obstacle or meet a goal. There’s a saying that says desperate times call for desperate measures. This in other words is saying that when the time calls for it, people will do what is necessary to survive. This is true on so many levels because it is in human nature to stay alive at all costs. Depending on a person’s situation, the want to succeed can become more and more urgent with the severity of the factors included in a situation. In The Straight Story, Alvin went to the doctor and was told that he had bad hips, bad lungs, and needed lots of money for the medicine that was required to heal him. Alvin specifically did not want to go to the doctor for this reason because he knew the results would be bad. Then he made the decision to go see his brother. He knew all this didn’t matter because he knew the relationship with his brother is what did. Have you ever had something on your mind that you needed to talk about, but can’t? Have you ever felt like everyone is talking about you and watching you because of something that’s happened that you feel ashamed of? Ever made a mistake that you can’t take back? I know what the truth is, and how I’m supposed to act, but I’m doing it all wrong. I can’t tell the ones I love about it because I’m terrified what they’ll think of me. They say they’re here for me and I can tell them anything, but I can’t. I am having an internal war with myself because of what I’ve done. I want to cry, I want to scream, I want to fight anything and everything that’s in my path, but when you look at my face you’ll see a blank expression hiding a thousand different emotions. Not only have I gone against what I’ve been taught, but I’ve also damaged this other person future and I feel like the lowest scum of the earth there is. It will take time for this all to blow over, but right now I feel like dying. I know that this is off-topic and irrelevant, and I will probably fail for this terrible essay I’ve presented to you, but at this point I don’t care. I needed to find a way to get this off my chest. I hope God still loves me and I hope things will get better.