Oprah Winfrey by Janiyah H.

 

Look at anyone whom you admire, and you realize that they have determination because of their early years full of strife. Facing adversity is a normal part of life. People's mindset and choices they make sometimes affect what they do with their adversity. Some people take that adversity and use it as a boost for a better future. One person is Oprah Winfrey, who overcame adversity in her younger years, living with her grandma and mom, living on a farm in Mississippi, and in Milwaukee with her mom.

      To begin with, Oprah Winfrey had a difficult early life. According to learningliftoff.com, she was raised on a small farm and moved house to house. Oprah grew up on a little farm with not much luck. She was always moving and faced many obstacles. She was not getting much attention from her family. Further showing her rough childhood, she then moved with her mom. She still began to get treated badly by many around her. But everything soon started to change.

       Secondly, Oprah Winfrey had a difficult early life. According to learningliftoff.com, she was neglected by her mom. Her mom was always working, and she would be alone. This is an important time in a child’s life to be surrounded by people who are loving and supportive. According to the text, “since her mother worked long hours as a house cleaner, Oprah was neglected.” Since her mother was always working, she would be left with her nineteen-year-old cousin who raped her. Oprah had many rough times when she was younger. She was beaten, neglected, and many more things that had been hard for her to deal with. Soon, her life started to become better.

      Lastly, Oprah had a difficult early life, but everything started to change once she moved with her dad. Her dad got her into school, and she began to grow and overcome all her obstacles. According to biography.com, her dad showed her the way. She went to a good high school, and she got into a program for public speaking. Once Oprah got older, she began to become successful with all these opportunities, her education, and her training. She has gotten her own talk show and even her own television network. Her dad changed her whole life. She has become very well known. She overcame all her obstacles and pursued her dreams.

        In conclusion, Oprah has had a very rough life. Her grandmother would abuse her, and she would get neglected by her mom. But everything started to change once she moved with her dad. She became successful and very well-known across the world. Oprah overcame her obstacles and focused on her dreams.

Franklin Roosevelt by Celeste H.

 

The person I am going to be writing about today is Franklin Roosevelt who overcame many points of adversity. If you do not know who this person is, he was a four-time president of the United States. The adversity that this person faced and overcame was that he was paralyzed from the waist down by polio before running for office. This incident came with many other obstacles tied to it. The adversity points that are being mentioned are about how he faced polio and managed to do all the jobs that a president does during presidency. 

  

To start off, who was Franklin Roosevelt? Well other than from what we already know that he was one of the past United States presidents is that he was born is 1882. To be more specific he was born 1882 January 30th in Hudson Valley Town of Hyde Park in New York. In 1910 he even won the election for the New York senate. He became elected President in November 1932, to the primary of 4 terms. ”Roosevelt had pledged the United States to the “good neighbor” policy, transforming the Monroe Doctrine from a unilateral American manifesto into arrangements for mutual action against aggressors.” He additionally also looked for neutrality rules to hold America out of the battle in Europe, but at the same time to bolster countries threatened or attacked. But this is only of the few things that franklin Roosevelt did. This shows that he was dedicated in making America a better country. He was a great president during his four-term presidency. But this is some background information on him. This can be found on the website https://www.whitehouse.gov. 

To continue, he faced many adversities, one being that Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Democratic Party had simply misplaced to Republicans in 1920. Then, in 1921 he felt unwell at the same time as on holiday in Campobello Island. He had child-like paralysis which left him absolutely and completely paralyzed from his waist down. Having been within the limelight as a prime political figure, his infection could move fast and persuade Americans that everybody thought they’d get it and it changed into now that it was no longer simply an immigrant sickness as that they'd believed before. This is all showing the adversity he faced. It was also quoted that “This permanent paralysis could have marked the end of Franklin Roosevelt’s political career. Many assumed it was. His family included. But Roosevelt, living true to his words, that the only thing you should fear is fear itself, took this as his re-introduction to politics. The beginning of his powerful political career.” This shows that even though all these new and not so good things were happening to him he kept his head held high. This quote can be found on the website https://justwritelife.com. 

Furthermore, Roosevelt had won the United States presidential election three extra instances in a row, making him the longest serving American President thus far and the American President to serve the workplace more than 2 phases. He also served 4 phases among 1933 and 1945, when he had died. This shows that he pushed through all the adversities he faced that he made the best out of it and became a great president that won 4 elections. He also faced his fears by facing his adversities. Also quoted is that “Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s story is a display of how much you can achieve when you live a life of zero fear and fight all the fear factors in your life.” So not only did he face many obstacles, but he did it to the point where he got reelected for president three more times. This can be found on the website https://justwritelife.com . 

Altogether, Franklin Roosevelt overcame many times of adversity all together, but still managed to pull through. Problem after problem, but he just saw it as a bump on the road. And that road that had bumps on it was the road to success. He faced his fears and overcame them to the point where people chose his three more times as president. So, to him it did not matter if he was paralyzed from the waist down, he still faced all his fears. 

Frederick Douglass by Brianna O.

 

Frederick Douglass is a person who has triumphed in the face of adversity. What happen to his mother, and what did his grandma do to him as a child? How did he begin to learn? Finally, what did he knew when he was unrestricted? Other people, like Frederick Douglass, can overcome adversity because he has shown us the way.

Douglass was born a slave, to begin with. He was taken away from his mother and placed with his grandmother, according to www.cram.com. Since his mother worked on a different plantation, Douglass didn’t get to visit her very much. He would still see his mother four or five times every year, but she passed away in 1825. Frederick’s grandmother was in charge of twelve other kids, including his brothers, sisters, and cousins, which meant he got little parental attention. His grandmother abandoned him when he was 7 or 8. He was depressed because he felt alone. He was left at the Great House to labor in the fields.

Next, Douglass was given to the Auld family in Baltimore as a friend for their boy, but was treated well in the Great House. He met Hugh Auld’s wife, Sophia Auld, there. Sophia adored Douglass, so when she began teaching him how to put words together, she thought it was natural. Sophia was proud of him, but when her husband learned about this, he was disappointed. According to www.history.com, Hugh’s disapproval was based on the fact that it was both illegal and dangerous to educate a slave. Sophia would no longer want to be associated with Douglass as a result of this. However, it was to late, Frederick was determined to learn to read and write. This literacy would lead him to become a freedom fighter who inspired others. 

To continue, Douglass didn’t give up years past and he was now able to keep high-ranking federal appointments after Reconstruction. As the United States Marshal of Washington, D.C., he served under five presidents between 1877 and 1881. He was also D.C’s Recorder of Deeds from 1881 to 1886. He held these posts at a time when African American political involvement was severely limited by violence, fraud, and discrimation. On top of his federal responsibilities, he continued to advocate for racial equality and women’s rights in his speeches and dealings with people. Douglass published his third autobiography in 1881. Frederick Douglass: His Life and Times, takes a long view of his life’s work, the nation’s progress, and the work that still has to be done. Even though the country had injustice and a fundamental lack of freedom, Douglass and like-minded thinkers had more to do.

Overall, Douglass had both a difficult and a fortunate existence. Douglass was a hardworking man. Douglass never gave up and succeeded in the end. Douglass would have liked if everyone could work hard even when they wanted to give up. His adversity led to success. 

Helen Keller by Abigail M.

 

Have you ever wondered about how Helen Keller became successful? Well, first she started out with a bad behavior and gave up on her life. But when her teacher Anne Sullivan taught things, she never knew she began to think that she can do things she thought she could never learn and just by not giving up she is where she is now. She was a famous author, good teacher, and other roles.… Helen Keller lived a successful life despite adversity. Here's her story.

 For starters, Helen Keller was born on June 27, 1880, in the small town of Tuscumbia, Alabama. Helen Keller was around nineteen months old when she got a horrible case of scarlet fever, leaving her deaf and blind. Soon they found a partially blind teacher named Anne Sullivan. It states on History.com, “Anne Sullivan was at the time 20 years old when she began teaching Keller. "When Sullivan just started teaching Hellen, she used a teaching technique where she placed something in Keller's hand and then would spell out the word on her hand. When Sullivan ran water over Keller's hand, she understood what Anne was trying to teach her.” Keller knew she could learn more. This is when she began learning more and more things. It was like a light was turned on. Before this, she was living like a wild child with tantrums.

Furthermore, in 1888 Hellen started attending The Perkins Institute for the Blind. This was a basic schooling course for someone with a disability. This wasn’t getting Keller nowhere. As soon as she graduated from the PIFTB, she and Anne Sullivan moved to New York to attend a school for the deaf. In New York she also started speech lessons with Sarah Fuller. According to the site History.com, it says, “In 1896 They returned to Massachusetts, and Keller entered The Cambridge School for Young Ladies”. There she studied more until she got accepted to Radcliffe College of Harvard University. For someone deaf and blind, she was moving up with education at an amazing rate.

Finally, Helen went on and became a famous author and she set her mind to educate students. Keller was the first deaf and blind person to earn a bachelor's degree. This was one of her greatest accomplishments. According to britannica.com, it tells how went on and grew older and was recognized by many people. Even famous and well-established people got to know who she was. She also got many more trophies and medals for her good work. Later on Helen Keller died at the age of 87 in 1968, June 1. She grew to learn what life can bring and how she could help those in need. Helen Keller would be the perfect person to look up to.

To sum up this explanation, I'd say Helen Keller had the most surprising life. She lived a successful life while facing many challenges like her being deaf and blind. But in the end, she overcame those problems and focused on what she could do and what she wanted to achieve. Helen died a strong woman who held on to what her life could bring. Helen Keller once said, “When one door of happiness closes, another opens.”

Bethany Hamilton by Emanuel C.

 

Many people face adversity in their lives and become successful. Bethany Hamilton, born in Hawaii in 1990, was surfing competitively at the age of 8. Her career was almost derailed at age 13 when a shark bit off her left arm. Despite this, she came back to surfing shortly afterward and won a title for herself in 2005. Due to being a successful author and public speaker. Hamilton has shared her experiences within the topic of adversity in documentary films and appeared on several TV shows and programs.

To begin with, according to biography.com, Bethany Hamilton was born in Lihue, Kawaii, Hawaii, to parents Tom and Chery. She was raised in a surfing family. Hamilton learned to handle the waves at an early age. By 8 years old she started competitive surfing, an amazing accomplishment for someone so young. By 9 years old, Hamilton got her first ever sponsorship, which was also amazing. Hamilton continued to do competitive surfing. She even proved herself capable of beating more experienced surfers. Her early life was wonderful until tragedy struck.

Next, on the morning of October 31, 2003, Hamilton went to surf with her best friend and her family. After a few hours of surfing, she felt pressure on her left arm and her best friend noticed that her left arm had been severed nearly to the shoulder. She was rushed to Wilcox Memorial Hospital. It was confirmed that she had been attacked by a 14 ft tiger shark, who bit off her arm. Nevertheless, she had the mindset of a lion, the king of the jungle. Missing a limb, she vowed to return to surfing as soon as possible. 

According to Titanica.com, despite this tragedy, Hamilton resumed surfing just one month after the attack and was determined to  help keep the story alive in the news. She did many interviews about her experiences. Her 2004 autobiography, Soul Surfer: a true story of faith, family, and fighting to get back on the board, became a best seller book and also a movie. She was honored by MTV, ESPN, and the U.S sports academy for her courage in the face of this adversity. Hamilton continued to publish more books such as “Devotions for The Soul Surfer” and many more. Even though a shark bit off her arm she accomplished so much for a young girl.

In conclusion, Bethany Hamilton succeeded despite her adversities. She was determined and was not letting her bitten arm get the best of her. So, she went on to surfing after a while of her attack. She is now known from several documentaries and from several TV shows and programs. She is an inspiration around the world to many kids, teens, and even adults.

Bethany Hamilton by Andrew H.

 

Anyone you know who is famous, well known or admired, they have probably gone through adversity. They became who they are known to be now probably from hard work and determination. Bethany Hamilton is an example of that, since a traumatic accident happened to her, yet she still overcame it and defied the odds. Even with her disability, she did not give into her injury and continued to do what she was passionate about. And for her that was surfing and competing in competitions. 

Bethany Meilani Hamilton Dirk was born on 2/18/90 in Lihue Hawaii, to parents Tom and Cheri. She was raised in a surfing family; her parents began teaching her how to surf before age 5. She swam competitively at 9 years old, and she also got her first sponsorship at that age. In 1998 she competed in the Rell Sunn Menehune Surfing Champions in Hawaii, She won both the short and long board divisions. Having her first success, she was very eager to become a professional and competitive surfer. Over the years Hamilton steadily rose the ranks in amateur surfing competitions, and she even won several events. “Courage, Sacrifice, determination, commitment, toughness, heart, talent, guts, that’s what little girls are made of the heck with sugar and spice,” said Bethany Hamilton. 

On October 31, 2003, Hamilton and her best friend Alana, her father, and brother went surfing While she was lying on her board, all of a sudden she felt immense pressure on her left arm. Initially she felt no pain; it took her a couple of seconds when she then noticed that the water had turned blood red, and that her left arm was missing. Almost her entire arm had been torn off, so she was quickly rushed to the hospital. About 60% of Bethany’s blood was lost that day and on the way to the hospital she felt numb. Although the doctors said that her chances of survival were slim, Bethany kept fighting for her life. After the incident, Hamilton was left traumatized, but she did not let that stop her. Within only a couple of weeks after the attack Bethany was already starting to surf again, and she had to use a custom board that was thicker and longer and had a handle for her right arm. On January 10th, 2004 Hamilton entered her first ever competition since the shark attack, finally getting back to surfing because she did not let her disability get in the way. Later she wrote an autobiography called Soul Surfer talking about the attack and what happened afterwards.  

Bethany Hamilton’s legacy will live on as someone who has gone through adversity, because she lost something most people can’t live without. According to bethanyhamilton.com, the famouspeople.com, and biography.com, she won the NSSA National Championship in the women’s division and started competing on the pro circuit in 2007. She won the event that year and it wouldn’t be her last. In 2009 Bethany went on the game show “Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader?” She won a 25,000 dollars. In 2011 a feature film Soul Surfer, based on Bethany’s 2004 book, released and she even did all the one armed stunts in the movie. She has written 9 books and was featured in 2 movies. She is involved in numerous charity programs including her own, Friends of Bethany, which reaches out to amputees and youth. She has four different programs in her charity which cover traumatic limb loss, free community gathering events, conference for young women and girls to discover their beauty and self-worth, and a male retreat for men who have lost their limbs and to focus on faith. Overall, Bethany Hamilton has had many achievements in her life.

Overall, Bethany Hamilton had faced adversity and overcame it, most people wouldn’t have been able to do the same after losing a limb. But a missing arm would not stop her passion for surfing. In her life she had many accomplishments and has won many awards.  And she has helped people refund their faith after losing limbs or going through hardship. For all the trauma and all the therapy, she had to receive from her arm, and to get back up and start surfing so quickly, it means she’s determined and believed nothing could stop her from surfing, not even a missing arm. Despite all the adversity she faced in her life she overcame it and came out on top with multiple achievements. 

Frederick Douglass by Yostin M.

Have you heard of anyone who overcome adversity? People who face adversity choose to give up or continue. Those who take a step succeed. One person who overcame adversity was Frederick Douglass. He is a historical figure of great importance who came from the time of slavery.

To begin with, Frederick Douglass had a hard early life. According to Britannica.com, Frederick Douglass was born in slavery to a black mother and a white father. Basically, he grew up in a difficult circumstance where he would have to make his own life choices. Also, at 8 years the man who owned him sent him to Baltimore, Maryland to live in the household of a Hugh Auld. Frederick Douglass grew up just to overcome all these challenges since childhood. At age 15 he attempted to escape slavery but discovered obstacles before he could do so. Frederick Douglass did everything he could do so to escape, to overcome that adversity. Despite all of this he grew to show all of us that you can overcome adversity.

Next, Frederick Douglass had a fear of speaking. According to pbs.org, Frederick Douglass was 23 at that time when he overcame his nervousness and gave a speech. This shows when Frederick Douglass overcame his fear and started to publicly advocate against slavery. Also, Frederick Douglass was determined to use his verbal communication to advocate against slavery, racism, and discrimination. We see how he grows up to become someone who we will remember because he fought for rights. And on this, with his speeches he fought to advocate equal rights, justice, and citizenship for African Americans. We see how he is willing to fight for what matters. He did so much overcome that fear of speaking to do all of this.

To continue, Frederick Douglass continued into old age to fight adversity. According to the website History.com, Frederick Douglass remained an active speaker. We see this after he accomplished everything and then he never stopped. Also, he spoke about rights and equality. We see how Frederick Douglass continued to speak about what was right. Even in his old age, Frederick Douglass saved many lives by helping people escape slavery. Frederick Douglass did the right thing even in his old age. He did everything in his power to save and change those who suffered. Many people were inspired by his speeches since he was a great man.

To conclude this, there where so many aspects Frederick Douglass, all of what he did, which started with a rough beginning. His early life was a life of slavery, poverty, and unfairness. His life was changed when he overcame slavery and his fear to speak. Even after all of that, he fought to the end, to save and free all slaves. He was an awesome person fighting for rights of all the people.