Klay Thompson by Raynard M.

Do you know people that you look up to or who you want to be like in the future had faced adversities in their lifetime and overcame them to get where they are right now? Little did you know facing adversity is something many people have gone through and use it as a way to push their lives for the better. One person I know who faced adversities throughout their career and kept pushing to overcome it is Klay Thompson. The reason I say this is he faced many injuries that impacted his life such as his hamstring, leg injury and tearing his ACL, but he overcame all of this and still is one of the best NBA players.

To begin with, Klay faced a leg injury recently. According to a news source called “Forbes,”“Klay gave an update on his rehab from a torn Achilles he suffered in November last year.” He’s expected to return to the court early next year to play high level long ball. This was a major injury in Klay’s career. Many people didn’t expect him to play again, but he overcame adversity and beat the odds by training hard. Because of this he is expected to get on the court again and play.

Another reason is, he strained his ankle during the playoffs. According to the news source called “NBC sports,” “Klay stranded his ankle during the playoff and came back and won the championship. Throughout all of these injuries he overcame them and came back stronger and played better. All of these he took as motivation and came back and played better than he ever has. These are some of the reasons I think he’s a person that overcame bigtime adversity. He literally took everything that messed him and his season up and took it as motivation to play better. 

All his accomplishments are the following. One, he is credited for being one of the best shooters in NBA history. Also, he’s a three-time championship with the warriors. He is a five-time NBA Allstar and a two time All NBA Third Team honoree. He has also been named to the NBA – all defensive second team. He is also a first round pick. Klay has all these many accomplishments.

To wrap this up, Klay Thompson overcame many injuries and didn’t stop trying first; he overcame a recent leg injuring. Also, he strained his ankle. There are many more injuries he had to go through, but even so, he overcame them and came back even stronger. Adversity didn’t stop him.

Harriet Tubman by Juan F.

 

         Imagine facing slavery throughout your whole life. One well-known woman went through that. Well, that woman goes by the name Harriet Tubman, also known as a hero for the underground railroad. She freed the slaves from slavery and helped the the slaves make a living. She brought equality and justice to the slaves. Harriet Tubman will be remembered for what she did.

        To start off, Harriet Tubman didn’t have it easy because slavery was such a huge problem back then. Plus on the website https://www.pbs.org it states that “Tubman was born a slave in Maryland’s country around 1820.” This already shows how hard her early life has been as being born a slave isn’t easy. She also began to work at a very young age according to https://www.pbs.org. It states, “At age five or six she began to work as a house servant.” It isn’t easy to work as a house servant especially as a kid; it isn’t easy to maintain household at such a young age. As she grew up she began to work at the fields because on the website https://www.pbs.org it confirms that, “Seven years later she was sent to work in the fields.” Just imagine working at a hot summer in the fields as a teen. Harriet Tubman’s early life wasn’t easy since she had to work very hard at a young age just to make a living. 

     Next, Aa a slave Harriet Tubman didn’t have good treatment as she had been through beatings and abuse. Plus on the website https://www.history.com it reports that, ”Tubman suffered lifelong pain and illness due to her mistreatment while enslaved.” She has been though lots of beating without even being taken care of or making a full recovery, and this just shows how brutal she was treated. Because on the website https://www.history.com it notifies that, “Tubman was given little medical care or time to recuperate before she was sent back out to work.” Just think about the pain she suffered from while working. This just shows how brutal she got treated as a slave. Not only that, she never recovered from that injury because on https://www.history.com it shows that, “She never recovered from the damage done to her brain and skull, suffering periodic seizures that researchers believed may have been a form of epilepsy.” Harriet Tubman’s treatment as a slave was a very brutal experience. It just isn’t easy to keep moving on as you have to be strong and have to be willing to move on.

    Lastly, as Harriet Tubman freed herself from slavery she had been freeing other slaves. Because the website http://www.americaslibray.gov confirms that, ”After Harriet Tubman escaped from slavery, she returned to slave-holding states many times to help other slaves escape.” This shows that Harriet Tubman wants to help the enslaved escape from such torture. It also shows that she cares about the lives of others. Not only that, she was involved in ending slavery in the United States because https://www.britannica.com reports that,”Harriet Tubman helped ensure the final defeat of slavery in the United States by aiding the Union during the American Civil War.” Not only did she help end slavery, she also freed lots of slaves. According to the website https://www.history.com,” Tubman applied intelligence as she learned as an Underground Railroad conductor to lead the Combahee Ferry Raid that freed more than 700 from slavery.” What a big way to help and end slavery. This shows what Harriet Tubman accomplished as a fugitive slave.

  To sum it all up, Harriet Tubman was an amazing leader. She didn’t let others get in her way of freeing others. She also didn’t fear the upcoming consequences. She took it like a champ and kept moving forward. This is a good example for a leader. Harriet Tubman will be remembered for the justice she brought upon slavery. 

Vincent Van Gogh by Tania R.

Many people today whom you admire had faced adversity. Whether it was racism, sexism, having a disability, etc. Most of them took what was incorrect and stood up for themselves and others showed that through their emotions and actions. Going through adversity is a thing that everyone goes through. People take advances of that difficulty and use it for a greater life; soon leading to triumph. An artist, who is known for painting “Starry Night,” Vincent Van Gogh, faced adversity throughout his life.

To embark with, Vincent was born on March 30, 1853. He was presented to being an artist at a young age when his uncle worked for an art company dealer, where Vincent was hired at the age of 16 for 6 years. According to Prezi.com, he decided to allocate his life to art. He attended to an art school in Brussels. He made more than 200 colorful pictures in school. Yet, he failed on a lesson and quit school after. Later, he pursued a career as a preacher in the Christian ministry. After a great experience in his hometown, he failed the entrance exam for his education (which lead to another failure).

In addition, Van Gogh’s life was a common pattern of failures after disappointments. Based on goinswriter.com, he tried another path, art and Christianity. His parents believed that Van Gogh was insane. But Vincent was interested in nature as a child while he traveled in the beauty of the God’s Creation. Van Gogh continued to believe in God helping him on the way. Although Vincent was going through depression and anxiety (which led him to cut his ear due being upset), he still continued to face his adversity. His parents still were ashamed of his actions pulling him down like an anchor, but soon Vincent in small steps lead himself to success.

Finally, Vincent Van Gogh never gave up on his dreams after failing unstoppable times. According to goinswriters.com, Vincent failed his way to victory. The Dutch painter continued his love for the outdoors. Everything he saw in front of him became his inspiration. His artistic carrier lasted for about ten years. He died at the age thirty-seven, in a hospital bed, mentally ill. After his death, his sister-in-law, his brother’s wife, sold his paintings and they eventually were shared around the world. His worldwide famous panting, ‘Starry Night,’ became well-known and popular around the globe. Soon, his name became admired.

To close up, Vincent Van Gogh was   remarkable man. He took his mistakes and converted them to prizes. One door closed and another one opened. He didn’t let anything get in his way. He trusted himself and followed on what he believed in. Vincent’s artworks inspire many people today, including me. Facing adversity was quite challenging to him, but he learned to forgive himself and try again. Vincent had once said, “In spite of everything, I shall rise again; I will take up my pencil…”

Helen Keller by Ashley N.

People have overcome adversity at least once in their life. Like Jesse Owens faced segregation but he overcame it. Even Albert Einstein had a learning disability had overcome adversity. But we are going to read about someone who faced a big adversity, also known Helen Keller who was deaf and blind. 

To begin, Helen Keller was born in Tuscumbia, Alabama on June 27,1880. She wasn’t an only child because she had four siblings. She caught an unknown illness when she was 19 months old. The doctors described this unknown illness as “an acute congestion of the stomach and the brain”. In “Early Childhood and Illness” in paragraph 3 of afb.org the author said, “Which might have been meningitis caused by the bacterium Neisseria meningitidis or possibly haemophilus inflenzae. Other possible infections were rubella or scarlet fever.” The doctors were trying to guess the possibilities of how Helen caught the unknown illness. The illness had left Helen deaf and blind. In paragraph 4, “At that time, Keller was able to communicate somewhat with Martha Washington, the two-years-older daughter of the family cook, who understood her signs; by the age of seven, Keller had more than 60 home signs to communicate with her family, and could distinguish people by the vibration of their footsteps”. Even though she was deaf and blind, Helen had ways to communicate with her family and could recognize people by feeling the person’s vibration of their footsteps.

Next, on March 3, 1887 someone named Anne Mansfield Sullivan came to Tuscumbia to become Helen teacher. Anne is blind or she suffered from serious vision problems. In “When Did Helen Keller Meet Anne Sullivan” on paragraph 5, “Anne believed that the key to reaching Helen was to teach her obedience and love. She saw the need to discipline, but not crush, the spirit of her young charge.” Which means Anne thinks the best way to teach Helen was with love and compliance. Anne also needed discipline but didn’t want to crush Helen’s spirit. So, Anne asked permission to take Helen out of her main house and to live in a nearby cottage. They stayed there for two weeks. Anne started teaching Helen by manually signing into Helen’s hand. Then Helen started to learn to form letters in the correct order and spelled words that she didn’t know existed. In “What were Helen Keller’s First Words” on paragraph, “Helen quicky proceeded to master the alphabet, both manual and in raised print for blind readers, and gained facility in reading and writing.” Helen and Anne’s amazing abilities or unique skills were then noticed by Alexander Graham Bell and Mark Twain who were two giants of American culture. Helen was then accused of plagiarism or copying at the age 11, but Bell and Twain defended both Helen Anne.

Lastly, when Helen was young, she wanted to go to college. In “Helen Keller’s Education and Literary Career” on paragraph 1, “In 1898, she entered the Cambridge School for Young Ladies to prepare for Radcliffe College. She entered Radcliffe of Arts degree cum laude in 1904.” Also, Helen was the first deaf and blind person to receive a Bachelor of Art Degree. Sadly, Anne died in 1936 and Polly Thomson took her place. Polly was a secretary for Helen and Anne in 1914. Helen started her writing career when she was still a student at Radcliffe. On paragraph 5, “Helen used a braille typewriter to prepare her manuscripts and then copied them on a regular typewriter.” She wrote topics about faith, blindness prevention, birth control, the rise of fascism in Europe, atomic energy, and more topics. In 1924, she had joined AFB and worked over 40 years for the organization. In “Helen Keller’s Worldwide Celebrity” on paragraph 1, “During seven trips between 1946 and 1957, she visited 35 countries on five continents.” She even met Winston Churchill, Jawaharlal Nehru, and Golda Meir who were world leaders. She died on June 1,1968 in Arcan Ridge and her ashes was put next to Anne and Polly in St. Joseph's Chapel of Washington Cathedral.

To summarize, Helen had faced a difficult adversity. Helen had achievements. She even inspired others who were deaf or blind. Helen had made a message of faith and strength through adversity resonating with those returning from war injured and maimed. She had to work hard to get where she is today. She had help facing adversity, but the strength was mostly hers.

Stan Lee by Antonio S.

If you are looking for a great person who has overcome adversity then Stan lee is the kind of man. He was hard working, and he did his absolute best making the Marvel comics and movies. He was very nice and everyone wanted to be around him. Even though he was rejected for most of his ideas with comic,s he didn’t let that criticism that he faced stop him from publishing any comics at all. Look how Captain America turned out, a soldier infused with super soldier serum was frozen for 70 years, but he survived. Even though Stan knew there was a war going on he still published the comic.

To begin with, since Stan Lee’s comics weren’t that popular because of World War II, and he wanted out. His wife gave him the push he needed to pursue his passion for creating comics that he wanted to create. e needed motivation to go back to creating comics because, since he was in the war most of the time, he lost interest. LifestyleAsia.com reports how Stan Lee overcame adversity to become a comic book icon. What happened for the next 50 years saw the eventual rise of comic book heroes onto the silver screen. Stan Lee helped Marvel with its success. While Lee had already retired from Marvel Comics by then, he played an important part in the company, going as far to appear in various cameos in many Marvel movies. Stan Lee was a crucial part in movies because even though he retired he still tried his very best to make everyone enjoy the movies. If Stan Lee stopped working at Marvel, then there wouldn’t be any Marvel movies.

Secondly, Stan Lee’s ideas were like bombs of success being set off every time they released a movie. Stan Lee was a very good old man, who suffered for our joy, because for Stan those cameos were really hard to film. Lifestyleasia.com reports how Stan Lee overcame adversity to become a comic book icon. So when Stan Lee was in the process of creating Spider-Man, he was met with criticism and skepticism from his publisher during pitches. Stan was determined to get his idea published. So even though he was rejected he still published Spider-Man. According to fantasy vol 15.lifestyleasia.com, Stan Lee overcame adversity to become a comic book icon. If Stan had listened to his publisher so many great movies, comics, and characters wouldn’t exist and Marvel most likely would have to shut down in the 80s or even sooner. We would never have the new Spider-Man if it wasn’t for Stan. Stan Lee was a great and determined man to produce joy with his ideas 

Thirdly, his publisher was right because a teenager superhero, with personal problems, and spider power was ridiculous. Nobody would want a spider as a pet his publisher thought and nobody would buy the comic. Time.com shows how Spider-Man was born. First of all people hate spiders, so you can’t call a book Spider-Man. Secondly, he can’t be a teenager since they can only be sidekicks. And third, he can’t have personal problems if he’s supposed to be a superhero because they are supposed to be on the top. Stan Lee was so positive even when his publisher was so rude to him. Stan got no credit whatsoever for the character Spider-Man because throughout his life he was just a writer for hire, so he never got credit for any of his work. Though out his life he was dealing with comics and the war, so he had a really stressed out life.

To end these thoughts, there were almost several challenges that Lee had to face, criticism, skepticism, and rejection. His rejection in the beginning made him a comics and movie star. His early life was damaged with rejection that he got, and especially with almost quitting. His comic career was ruined by both his publisher and the World War, which had caused him to give up, because comics were like cartoons of his war experience. His wife Joan saved the Marvel company, by motivating Lee back into the comic business, with him almost giving up. We would not have the multiverse of Marvel if it weren’t for Joan, who was a career saver, and may she Rest in Peace with Stan. They both were extraordinary people with great minds and they both overcame obstacles, particularly Stan Lee.

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.