"Adversity has the effect of eliciting talents which in prosperous circumstances would have lain dormant." -Horace
Consider this quotation about adversity from Roman poet Horace. Then, write an essay that defends, challenges or qualifies Horace's assertion about the role that adversity (financial hardship, political hardship, danger, misfortune, etc.) plays in developing a person's character. Support your argument with appropriate evidence from your reading, observation and experience
I am singer and an aspiring Broadway actress, but the one thing that any singer can agree with me on is that singing is not easy. This quotation written by Horace, explains that an individual gets more out of difficult times than when one is successful. Through my years of training as a singer, I can honestly say that I agree with this quotation because I have become an even harder worker, stronger person, and has helped me not to take my talent for granted through my difficult times. These aspects of my singing career are revealed throughout my life.
ReplyDeleteThroughout the years, I have come to learn that just because someone does not like my art does not mean I do not love singing. Let me explain, singing, like many other after school activities, is an extremely difficult art to perfect and there are many different styles or techniques that others think are the "right way". Which is why singing is a difficult art to judge. One judge might like a more classical sound, and another might like more of a musical theater sound. I have been judged numerous times throughout my life, and some judges loved my singing and some did not. For example, last year I went to PMEA District Chorus and I auditioned for a solo. I wish I could say that I nailed it, but I choked under pressure and I did not get the solo. Although I did not know this at the time, but through this rejection it made me work even harder for next year's festival. I started to practice everyday and my vocal techniques extremely progressed. As the next year approached I auditioned again, and I was more confident than I have ever been because of the hard work I put into this new song. I auditioned this year and I got the solo! Then since I received a solo at the last festival I was able to try out for another one at Regional Chorus, and I received another solo! The reasoning for this was not because of some miracle that occurred over a course of one year, but it was because of my rejection that I learned from my mistakes which allowed my talents to elicit.
Not only has rejection helped me to become an even harder worker, but it has also allowed me to become a stronger person. Some wise words that came from my voice teacher's friend that I will never forget are, "You can be told that you're crap at singing ten times in a row, but that won't stop you from loving it." There a plenty of judges that have not liked me, but through their mean comments and through the rejections, I have become a stronger person because nothing can stop me from loving my art. Rejection and difficult times are what I feed off of as a singer. The more rejection I get, the harder I will bounce right back and the more confidence I will have in myself to know that singing is the life I have chosen.
ReplyDeleteSinging is not only an art form, but it is also a lifestyle. The amount of times that I have struggled with loosing my voice has been unreal. Which is why I do so many remedies to take care of my voice on the daily. I drink a gallon of water a day, sleep with a humidifier, have a personal steamer, and drink a gross mixture to cure swollen vocal chords. I do all of these remedies because of the amount of times I have lost my voice. The physical limitation of not being able to sing has taught me how to properly that care of my voice. Without this obstacle, I do not think that I would be the same singer that I am now. I take great care of my voice, and I know not to take it for granted because it can be gone any day.
"Adversity has the effect of eliciting talents which in prosperous circumstances would have lain dormant," implied Horace. This is an extremely relevant to my life. This quotation explains that an individual gets more out of difficult times than when one is successful. Through my years of training as a singer, I can honestly say that agree with this quotation because I have become an even harder worked, stronger person, and has helped me not to take my talent for granted through my difficult times. No matter how many times I am rejected, I will learn from my mistakes and get right back on my feet.
Marcy i really enjoyed your blog! it really helped to know more about it and your love for singing! i truly enjoyed it! good work! i also think that your relation to the quote was good in the last paragraph!
DeleteEvery time I hear you sing at mass I get chills. You have progressed so much since you began singing. As a junior, you have achieved a very fluent and beautiful mature singing voice that is unheard of at such a young age and even in this small county. Adversity is very evident through your journey.
DeletePs please remember me when you get to broadway and maybe you can throw in some free tickets because you would kill it girl 👏🏻
You did a good job explaining most things in your blog! I think it is hard for some people to understand that singing isn't easy but you did a great job relating singing with other struggles!
DeleteI love the personal aspects of your singing journey you used for this blog! It really showed us another side to what you love so much. I don't think many people realize what really goes into training to be a singer and you did a great job explaining that!
DeleteSports have always been an important part of my life, but it definitely hasn't always been easy. "Adversity has the effect of eliciting talents which in prosperous circumstances would have lain dormant." This quote written by Horace means that when someone faces struggles in their life they can discover new things about themselves they would not have discovered if those obstacles or struggles hadn't been faced.
ReplyDeleteI've been playing sports since I was in elementary school. Softball during the summer, volleyball, basketball, and Track and Field. Volleyball I would have to say put me through the most struggles in my life. Throughout high school I would play on a travel volleyball s program had a lot of kids in it. So there were very many teams depending on what age you were. At the time I was 15 playing on the 15 and 16's team. Two of my very best friends who were the same age as me got to move up and play on the 17 and 18's as well as play with the 15 and 16's on my team. I wondered my I wasn't good enough to play with them in the older girls team and that always mad me a little bit mad, but I would never let anyone know. This made me work harder because this was going on during my high school track season that could only allow us to have one practice a week, and that was every Sunday. I worked my butt off every single Sunday at those practices and I never managed to get moved up and play with them as a 15 year old. Although it worked out in the long run because I did get moved up the next year as a 16 year old. I got to start and play on the 17 and 18's volleyball team and I didn't even play on the 15 and 16's.
My sister was four years older than me, the only sport that she did was volleyball. So of course I went to all of her volleyball game. My cousin was just three years older than me and I always wanted to get a chance to play with her on the volleyball court. I knew that I was going to have to work extremely hard if I wanted to get a spot or even stand a chance on the varsity lady crusader volleyball team. I knew there was no way I was going to get moved up as a freshman so all I could do was keep working. My freshman year came and went and I began my sophomore year of volleyball. The same thing happened again. Two players who were also sophomores got moved up to play on varsity and I didn't. I worked all season to try and get my the varsity coach to notice me somehow and it always just seemed like nothing I could do was right. So just like my freshman year, my sophomore year came and went and it was time for my big junior year. This meant that I was on varsity. I worked hard all year and made the first team all district team. Sophomore year also came and went and it was time to begin my senior year of volleyball. This was what all of my years of hard work had lead up too. We were distrust runner ups, I was again named to the first all district volleyball team, and was even named to the all state volleyball team, and even was awarded the team MVP.
I truly believe that if I would of gave up on myself I never would of accomplished anything. All of the struggles that I faced throughout my volleyball career only made me stronger and realize how good of a player I actually was no matter how many people brought me down or told me that I wasn't good enough. One of my favorite quotes by Vince Lombardi is "winners never quick and quitters never win." I think that this quote also has a lot of meaning behind it just the like the one from Horace. I agree with this quote 100% because not everything is going to come easy to you in life, and you have to learn to deal with your struggles, and learn how to use them as a big motivation. No matter how many times someone told me I wasn't good enough, I will learn to always have faith in myself and use that encouragement to always know that I can do better.
Cass I really enjoyed your blog this week. I don't know how to explain it, but the way you presented you personal tone to the piece was very intriguing and full of emotion. However, if there is one thing I can comment to improve upon is your word choice. At times, it takes away from your argument, but here it had a tendency to be a little choppy.
DeleteJust as a side note, coach g misjudged your talent, you are a very good athlete and I'm sure once she saw your success this year, she and your other coaches had a sense of regret from the decisions in the previous years!
I really enjoyed how personal your blog was! This blog really gave us a chance to get to know you better. You did have a few spelling mistakes but the overall storyline was heartfelt and well done.
DeleteI really enjoyed your blog and how you added your own personal aspect to it. Nice work.
DeleteHorace, a famous Roman poet, has shed some light on the opportunities we are granted and the talents we present are achieved through some type of adversity. "Adversity has the effect of eliciting talents which in prosperous circumstances would have lain dormant" is a promising quote from the wise Horace. No matter the life circumstance, whether it is a career, activity, hobby, family relations, school work, or sporting events, adversity is something every individual must overcome to achieve success. When I was a student in elementary school, I suffered hardships in my school work. My mother began to notice I would read from right to left instead of left to right. She initiated meetings with my teachers to question how I was doing, and if they noticed anything that stuck out to them that wasn't the norm. Along with struggling academically, I was enrolled into speech classes for my case of a lisp. My teachers could not recognize any learning disability, they just assumed I was just unable to achieve certain academic areas. My mother knew something was wrong, and was aware that my uncle was a special eye doctor at The Vision Development Institute in Pittsburgh. As a senior in high school, I can evaluate my constant struggles as a child and how I've slowly grown into an academically strong individual by reaching out to outside sources other than the school.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was in elementary school, I was not fully aware of why I was struggling with my school work and why I would fail every test even though I was dedicated to studying and preparing for assignments and tests. I was always discouraged for doing the worst in the class, and having just about everyone of my classmates succeed while I was still at square one. The school decided to enroll me into special reading and math classes as extra help to experiment if that would help with my learning. It would help, however, no study method nor style would help me succeed. I was even granted the opportunity to take tests outside of the classroom; meaning while all of my classmates took their tests in desks with their name tag on it, I was in an empty room all by myself. The teachers believed that as students who would finish their test quicker than myself and walk to the front of the classroom and set it on the tray, would create anxiety and make me feel as if I needed to hurry up and finish my test just because everyone knew what the answers were, but I didn't even though I prepared for them.
All throughout elementary school and even middle school, I was looked at as the mentally challenged girl who was really bad at school. In math class, every student would take turns and go up to the board to do some problems. As it was my turn, I would stand nervously in the front of the room and blankly stare at the board, unable to quickly do the math problem. Once you were finished you were asked to go back to your seat, well there I stood, chalk in hand and barely anything written down. Classmates would comment on my elapsed time at the board in which only made myself more petrified to turn around and walk back to my seat with nothing written down, or being the only one with the wrong answer. I struggled to accept that I was the classmate who stuck out like a soar thumb and couldn't do simple division and multiplication.
There were times where I would come home crying, upset that I would get made fun of because I wasn't as quick as the rest of my class. As the years went on, my mother decided enough was enough and scheduled me an appointment with my uncle at the Vision Development Institute. It's hard to explain every activity, challenge, therapy, and tests I went through at these appointments, but it showed there was something wrong, more than anything my family would have thought. During a particular test with my uncle, we discovered that my peripheral vision was smaller than the average child. (Estimated sizes for visual) Instead of a circumference the size of a steering wheel, it was the size of a round butter container. The machine I was looking into revealed that my left eye was not matching up with my right; my left eye would have a tendency to wander off while the right was pulling the weight for two. The official medical term is called convergence insufficiency (CI). CI is a "disorder of the sensory and neuromuscular anomaly of the binocular vision system, characterized by a reduced ability of the eyes to turn towards each other, or sustain convergence.
ReplyDeleteOnce aware of my troubles, I dedicated three years of appointments every other Sunday to the Vision Development Institute where I would go through constant therapy, tests, exercises, and games. This was all in hope to correct my deficiency and strive to become academically stronger with the help of the vision institute. Ever since I was in elementary school, I greatly struggled with academics. My vision deficiency had a set back on my school work. In middle school, I was placed in the lower English and math courses based on my elementary grades and written reports from the teachers and school. However, going into seventh grade, I was finished with my weekly visits to the Institute and my eyes were opened up to the greatness I was capable of, but I was still in the lower classes. I was ahead of the students in the class with me, and I begged my mom to contact the school in regards of moving me into classes with the rest of my classmates. In the end, I was able to move up in English, but it was too late to move up in math. Now as a senior, I am technically a year behind in math which stems from my lower middle school maths I inquired about leaving.
My whole life has been filled with adversity when it comes to academics. I was always the one behind, the one who was thought to have a learning disability, and the one who teachers just excused. Adversity was all I knew. It took four years to finally overcome one of my greatest burdens, and now, I can leave the struggles I had in the past. I no longer require extra classes to help me, or special institutions to "make me smart." Through the corrections the Institute has given me, I have found myself on the honor role since my freshmen year. It was only a few years before that were I couldn't even take a test in the same room, or complete a math problem on the board. Take it from someone who was faced with adversity most of her life, there's nothing that is unachievable; with constant hard work, dedication, and support from your family, the greatness that is available to you will never stop. As WeeJ once said, look adversity straight in the eyes and say "You don't scare me!"
Emily, this is something that i never knew about you, i also have never heard of that eye condition before! it was very interesting to learn how you overcame all your difficulties! Good essay! Very nice job!
DeleteI never knew this about you but the way you talk about your struggles seems to build up your character! You did a great job and I love the last quote by WeeJ
DeleteEmily, your blog was really really interesting this week. I learned a lot and it was interesting to hear your story and learn more about you. You used the simple prompt to your advantage. Very well done.
DeleteCharacter is something that every person has and just like finger prints no ones character is the same. Helen Keller once signed, "Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, vision cleared, ambition inspired, and success achieved". In reading this, I came to an understanding that character isn't something given but it is something that needs to be strived to form. A wise man named Horace once emphasized, "Adversity has the effect of eliciting talents which in prosperous circumstances would have lain dormant". What made a man say such a thing is the thirst for truth and fairness. In today's society it seems that those who have more are happier than those who have less. In some aspects that may be true but those who are less fortunate somehow manage to stay happy with so little. They might have little in material but their character grows with great anticipation day by day. Life is unfair and character is built from what each person can make from that unfairness. Children that get tossed around from home to home in the foster care system from rich children with parents that pay for their college and unfair moments. When Horace talked about adversity he was simply talking about the different types of people with all their unfair times. He emphasized that the only important thing is what your character looks like when it shines through the hard times.
ReplyDeleteI like your Helen Keller quote! It expressed the concern of your blog very well. I also enjoyed the way you spoke about what kind of character a person reveals when they hit those hard times. Good work!
DeleteKinda short, but you said a lot with very little. I also like your other quote that you used. Nice job
DeleteNichole, nice blog. To improve it further, you could of expounded on the idea of adversity bringing out talents rather than focusing on building character. Keep up the good work.
DeleteYour blog was short but it definitely got your point across clearly, and I like how you added another quote into it. Nice work.
DeleteA few years ago, I made a huge decision that would change the way I live my life forever. I transferred schools in the seventh grade from Cameron County School District to Elk County Catholic. The transition from a small public school to an even smaller Catholic school is something I was terrified of doing, but I knew the opportunities would be much greater at ECC. "Out of your element" is an understatement for what I experienced. I knew everyone in my town and was friends with all of the other kids in my class. Being the shy, new kid at a different school was definitely a huge adversity that showed all over me wherever I went. I still feel this sometimes today and it has been a few years since I transferred. Having to face the adversity head on helped me in multiple areas of my life. When I started making new friends, joined a sports team, and when I generally started speaking my mind, I knew I had harnessed the effects of adversity for the better.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was much younger, I used to be extremely shy and kept to the people I was most comfortable with. Being put in a completely different school setting, where I knew no one before hand, forced me to break out of that tough shell. Because I transferred at a young age, I was not used to striking up a casual conversation with completely new people. Everyone in my elementary school knew everything about each other. When I started talking to new people, I was able to learn about new areas of myself I never knew I had. My shy shell slowly broke away and I became a much more open person. Without this experience, I am not sure I would have ever broken out of my shell.
Joining a sports team was another hurdle I had to jump over. All of the coaches for every team I joined, knew all of the girls around me extremely well. They knew how well, or not well, they could play. The coaches knew nothing about me, besides what they were able to see in practices. So naturally, they gravitated towards the girls they knew more. I knew I could not hide back in my shy shell again, so I put myself out their and forced myself out of my element again. Without speaking up and making myself known more, I would have remained in the background forever. I learned that lesson the hard way. I am now not afraid to be more vocal in a team type setting.
Last year, some of my friends and I ran for student council. This was just another step away from my formal shy self who may have been too afraid to run for something like student council. When we won the positions, I was excited to start contributing ideas for our class and the school. I have always enjoyed coming up with creative, new ideas that help out with things like fundraising or dance decorations. At student council meetings, there are many students in all high school grades. This, again, was something much different than what I was used too experiencing. I could feel my shy shadow returning during meetings and I would be too afraid to voice my ideas. I pushed the shadow away and forced myself to not be afraid. I helped come up with a new idea for the senior class fundraiser and my friends and I helped decorate for the homecoming dance as well as the prom in May.
Without the effects adversity put on me, I would never have been forced out of my shell and would never have learned the new aspects of myself. A great Pinterest quote once said, "There are only two options: make progress or make excuses." My advice to any person listening is to not let any type of adversity overcome the best parts of you.
I loved this blog! Your personal story really helps explain the quote from the prompt. You explained your story well and this blog was very well written! Great work!
DeleteLife is full of struggles that sometimes tear a person down to the brink of suicide and self-loathing, however there are some people who grow and mature from these struggles in life that pop up every now and then. The poet Horace stated "adversity has the effect f eliciting talents which in prosperous circumstances would have lain dormant." A talent is not the only aspect that can be brought forth from someone in times of sadness or hurt, character can also be improved and even changed in some persons. I have had a time in my life where I felt I should end my life because the world would be better without me in it. This time did not last a month or two, this lasted for three years and I am still recovering and trying to move past that time in my life. I am very certain that this adversity has made me the person I am today and the person that everyone sees in school and in public. I am shy, has a social anxiety, but I will talk when spoken to if I feel there is something I could add to the conversation or the topic. People tell me I am a good listener, and I would like to think that I am because I know how it feels to not have someone to talk to or to feel that what you have to say is not good enough to be heard by others. I have learned something very valuable during those rough three years, that is that everyone needs someone to just listen to them and assure them that their words mean something to the conversation. I extend this out to everyone here in the blog if any of you need someone to listen I am all ears. You all may come to me if need be, I will not push any of you away. I am also very conscious towards other people's feelings, I would rather put their feelings above my own. This view of my life was brought on during those three years as well because I realized that if you make someone else's day better or happy then you are happy as well. There are a lot of people in the world that are only focused on themselves and in turn hurt those that love them so much because they are full of what they want and are blind to the actions they are doing towards others. People should not live like this, live for others and a smile that you made on someone else's face brings more happiness to your life than an expensive car or video game console. The three years of depression and self -loathing I have faced are not fully over because there are days where I still lose sight of my confidence and purpose, yet I will smile for those that I love and care about because I wish them not to worry about those things. Character does not come from selfishness and money, it comes from hardships and pain. These are all things in life that shape us and then after the storm passes we can truly find who we are.
ReplyDeleteNichole, I enjoyed how relatable you made yourself to the blog. It filled it with so much emotion!
DeleteMany of us fear being wrong or not getting what we want. These adversities always seem to stand in our way, preventing us from reaching our true potential. At least, that's how it looks to us. As an aspiring musician, adversity is everywhere. People constantly telling you that you'll never be big, seeing passionate bands fail because they're not catchy enough, not having enough money to get anywhere, not being able to find people with the same musical direction, the list goes on and on. It's really hard to be a part of this unique group of people and not be a little worried that I'll never be anything. The Roman poet Horace states that adversity is what drives us to use these talents that would've never shown through otherwise. If I knew that music was easy and anyone could do it, it's not very likely that I would've ever picked up an instrument in the first place. Many people are like this. Albert Einstein is a prime example that defends Horace's statement. He was constantly being told to stay quiet and stop questioning his teachers, so much so that he was expelled from school in Germany. Did that stop him? Of course not, and now he is revered as one of the most intelligent men to have ever lived. People are formed by the adversity that troubles them, whether it is for better or worse. Unfortunately, many of us happen to be caught up in our adversities and either fall or give in. Some people face adversity such as political corruption, and succumb to its effects and become part of the problem. This is very evident in today's society. Another way people are struggling with their adversities is the fact that many people are getting more and more offended with every passing news story. Without a doubt, adversity is what builds us in character, but it is how we handle these adversities that forms who we are completely. We are defined by our character and our actions, and our adversities and troubles are what challenge us to find who we really are as people. If everything were too easy and we had no issues in our lives, we could define ourselves as perfect and we would just find ourselves as objects, puppets for people to look up to because we have no problems whatsoever. These people's main concern is which pair of expensive clothing to wear on the red carpet that evening. They have very little adversity challenging them to become better people, which doesn't challenge them to be better people. Many of us rely on our problems, because they make us who we are. Who we are is what can help make the world more livable.
ReplyDeleteAdversity is faced throughout nearly all parts of life. The challenge of adversity is what is being received from the situation. There are always going to be obstacles to face from time to time. Some of the challenges that are encountered provide a positive effect that creates the ability to be open to influences. Horace reveals the thought that in hard times adversity allows a discovery of talents. In life struggles can be faced which may lead to the finding of new self attitudes and positive success.
ReplyDeleteHardships are presented and formed throughout society. People may face major and minor hardships everyday. The scenarios force adaptation in a situation which creates the human mind and body to develop further in character. Malcolm X once came to conclude the behavior and expressed "There is no better than adversity. Every defeat, every heartbreak, every loss, contains its own seed, its own lesson on how to improve your performance the next time". Many people will welcome challenges into their life. It may be painful, but yet pain can only ever be temporary. The role of adversity opens up a sense of motivation which grants character build in human beings.
Adversity is the key to success. It is important to keep the mind on the journey to work hard and never give up on dreams. Henry Ford once stated “When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it". Of course there will be times when obstacles take over and block out hope, but it is up to the individual to grasp onto the hope and make something out of it. No one lives a perfect life so fight the struggles to find the hidden success society adores.
Herace's words depict the main struggle found in the soul. Life is just one short journey in which everyone's tells a different tale. Yes, there will be hardships and challenges to overcome, but with the right attitude they can better the human being. Draw from experience and build a stronger character. The bigger the adversity, the bigger the lesson, and the bigger success reached in a developed person.
Lauryn, you have a decent blog. But if you added examples of adversity, it would be even better. You could build off of Henry Ford's persistence against his adversity. Good Job.
DeleteMy interpretation of the quote "Adversity has the effect of eliciting talents which in prosperous circumstances would have lain dormant" by Horace is that when someone faces struggles in their life they can discover new things about themselves they would not have discovered if those obstacles or struggles hadn't been faced. I can defend this quote because I have lived through an example of this. I went through a hardship but it made me a better person in the end.
ReplyDeleteEighth and ninth grade were the worst years of my life. I struggled with bullies and not fitting in, and I was hurting a lot. Every morning I woke up not even wanting to go to school, and sometimes it would get to the point where I faked being sick just to stay home. I feared going to school, I feared 97% of the people there, and what they thought of me. I helped in the special ed class when I could, and even then, when I walked out of that classroom, I was being judged. I had an extremely hard time fitting in with people, I often isolated myself. When the bell rang to go to our next class, I walked alone. At lunch, I sat with people, but I never talked. After school, besides when I had sports, I'd sit at home by myself. I thought that was the way I was supposed to live. I thought I'd always be the misfit weirdo and someone that was talked about by almost everyone. I never thought my life could change, until the summer going into my sophomore year.
I'll never forget when I knew my life was going to change. It was after a softball all star game in Dubois, I was talking to my friend Brianna and her dad, and he was jokingly trying to get me to transfer to ECC. At first I laughed it off and I was like "nah" but I texted Brianna the whole way home and we talked about it, and the more we talked about it, the more I thought about it. The more I thought about it, the better it sounded. I eventually talked to my mom and after long talks and convincing my mom that it would be better, by the end of July, I was being transferred over to ECC. My first few days of school weren't the best, because I thought I knew a lot of people, but it turned out I didn't. I started to isolate myself because I was afraid of being judged again but soon enough, people started talking to me and I was making friends. I wasn't as afraid to put myself out there. I soon became a lot happier and healthier. To this day I am 100 times happier than I was in eighth and ninth grade, and transferring was the best decision I have ever made.
This struggle and the solution has made me a better person. I realized that just because things are hard, doesn't mean they'll stay that way. I learned that things change, and if you're already down, things can and will get better. I am also a lot less quick to judge others. I used to judge people a lot myself, but not anywhere near the way I was judged. But now I rarely ever judge someone because I know how it feels to be the one judged. Another thing I learned is that I'm not alone, and me going through it makes it easier to talk to others. I realize how many people are going through their own hardships, but me going through what I went through, makes it easier to be there for them and to talk to them and let them know that they're not alone, because I had no one to tell me that.
I faced a lot of struggles in my life, from school to family, just as most people do. But one of my worst struggles led to the biggest miracle. Horace's quote "Adversity has the effect of eliciting talents which in prosperous circumstances would have lain dormant" is so relatable because going through a struggle has made me a better person. It has made me realize things I never would've known about myself and others had I not struggled myself.
I disagree with Horace's idea, because adversity in and of itself does not make people learn talents. It depends on the person's faith and confidence in themselves that can make or break them. A person in financial ruins it not necessarily going to learn from their misfortune and become better at money management. What they do in reaction to the event dictates if they uncover their talents or not. When Donald Trump entered into his father business, Trump Organization, with a small loan of $1,000,000, he experienced some adversity., such as when his corporations filed chapter 11 bankruptcy on his businesses e.g., The Trump Taj Mahal in 1991, Trump Castle, Trump Plaza and Casino, and Plaza Hotel in 1992, Trump Hotels and Casinos Resorts in 2004, and Trump Entertainment Resorts in 2009. These all faced millions of dollars worth in debt. Most might view these as bad saying he is unable to manage his own businesses with a profit. But without experiencing bankruptcy firsthand, Trump wouldn't personally know how to deal with them or prevent them later in life. Donald Trump says "What separates the winners from the losers is how a person reacts to each new twist of fate," and being that he is making billions of dollars from investments, what he says should not be thrown into the water. If ones looks through history, they can see that adversity can lead to finding talents, such as WWII. Without it, mankind wouldn't know the power behind nuclear energy and use it for good. But what actually makes one find their talents is not the adversity, but the reaction to it.
ReplyDeleteAdversity brings out qualities of a person that they never knew they had so much of, or any at all. Strength is one of these qualities that begins to show in difficult times. For example, Horace is making the point that if an individual never experiences a circumstance, such as living in poverty, they will never see important qualities within themselves. Until a person is tested, they do not know what they can do.
ReplyDeleteSome people may disagree with this view on how adversity shapes a person because they believe that Horace is shaming those who don't struggle. However, he simply claims that it brings out talents that may have not been seen in better circumstances. There is no way to argue against this claim, which is supported by life experience and logic.
Countless novels and speeches have been written about this phenomenon. For example, Etched in Sand is the true story of Regina Calcuterra, a best selling author, who spent her life being poor, abused, and in foster care. Although these circumstances were not ideal, they showed Regina what she can do and what she can overcome. Another example of this is almost any artist. The greatest, most intelligent people in history are often the most troubled.
Now, the claim that almost every artist has faced adversity seems a bit broad, but did Horace define what adversity shapes a person? How can people determine whose struggles can be defined as adversity? Adversity, to me, is any struggle in the process of becoming who an individual is meant to be, which includes pressure from outside sources or living in poverty, like Regina. The difference between these two types of adversity is that one is physical, while the other is mental. However, does that make either of them less difficult?
Sometimes, a person will never know who has faced adversity in their life, but a couple qualities are quick indicators that they have. Two examples of these qualities are humbleness and humility. They are how an individual is shaped from one single event. Because they have experienced an instance in which they were tested, the individual is forever changed from that moment. It makes them more thankful for the life they have and more considerate of others who may experience similar difficulties. Adversity changes people.
I really enjoyed reading your blog because I can tell that you are very passionate about this subject. I also enjoyed that you tied in the novels that we read such as Etched in Sand! Nice work!
DeleteWhen I read this quote, I automatically think about my life and all the obstacles I've had to face throughout these 17 years. At age seven, I was taken in by child services and put into foster care. By age nine, I was adopted by the most amazing family and child could ask for. Through those years and even sometimes now, I still struggle with the issues from my "previous life", as I like to refer to my life before adoption. The biggest adversity I had to overcome was being separated from my little sister, Emily. Our biological mother was a drug addict and our dad was an abusive drunk. Because of our situation, we became the inseparable sisters. I took care of Emily for as long as I can remember. She is only a year younger than I am, and we were often mistaken as twins. Emily and I did everything together. We hung out with the same friends, went to the same schools, wore matching clothes. She was like my little mini-me. We always had each other's backs and she looked up to me like a mother figure more than she did to our own mother. When we were put into foster care, my main goal became to protect her from anyone and anything that might harm her. This worked out for the first year, but then in our second foster home we were separated. I remember the day very clearly as I waited in the play room at CYS for Emily. I had just met Rhonda, who is the woman who adopted me. As we started to pack up everything in the room, I asked a simple question that altered my life forever, "Where is Emily?" After I was informed that she wouldn't be coming with me for the first time in the six years of my life I had been with her, I was lost. She brought out the best in me, but at that moment I was officially all alone. We always had each other to count on, and I felt like I had failed her in that moment. My point of this entire story is that Horace was exactly correct when he said, "adversity has the effect of eliciting talents which in prosperous circumstances would have lain dormant." In my life particularly, I would not be the person I am today had I not gone through all of the pain and suffering I endured as a child. If I wouldn't have been separated from Emily, I wouldn't be as independent as I am. If our parents would have been decent people, I would not be with the family I have right now, and I wouldn't have my friends, this school, this uniform, I wouldn't even be writing this blog! Adversities in life are a given, they will happen to everyone. The effect they have on the person is what really matters. For me, it was a bittersweet effect, but Emily and I are still just as close as we were before, maybe even closer now.
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