Andrew Tran

ENGL-117

Mr. Shackett

July 07, 2019

Facing Adversity

In today’s society, we suffer every day from adversity in our lives, which can slow down

people’s journeys toward their goals; however, individuals tend to wither down into people of

doubt and pessimism whenever they encounter a challenge that is in the way of their ultimate

goals. The key part of our adversity is whether we are able to overcome the challenges that lay

ahead or if we just give up and allow it to run you over. Moreover, it is not as essential as to

when or how something is actually overcome. If that something is preventing an individual from

achieving a goal or a dream, then it must be overcome. The reward from overcoming

obstacles––real or perceived––is constantly far greater than giving up or succumbing to the

challenge. For the majority of people in today’s society, the most important factor in overcoming

obstacles and adversity is drive, which can be found in anything or anyone.

As the challenge of being a cancer patient and having no functioning family looms

overhead, David Small did not give up at that moment in his life; he dusted himself off and

proceeded to climb over the obstacle to get to his goal. Living in a house of silence, David was

able to find his voice when he went to therapy, which became his safe haven. The therapist was

the only one who ever honest with him, telling him that his mother never loved him, and treated

him like a favorite son, commending his artwork. The therapist was also the one that truly cared

for David and his well being. Having the therapist by his side, David had something he never had
before: a support system. Through this support, David was able to lift himself off the ground and

develop the drive for him to face the challenge of having a dysfunctional family. In addition, art

was another factor in driving David to combat his adversity because it was his passion and life

goal to become an artist. Similar to what David illustrated in the memoir ​Stitches​, I believe you

can overcome your own adversity through things you have a passion for, which will then drive

you to get over the obstacle in the road. Small illustrated, “Art became my home. Not only did it

give me back my voice, but art has given me everything I have wanted or needed since” (Small,

302). Small’s point is that his passion–art–gave him what he needed and wanted in life, which

ultimately gave him drive to overcome his challenges–a dissolving family and throat cancer.

Furthermore, through art and his drive, David was able to have a home where he felt a sense of

belonging and where he loved his family members; it also helped him with his vocal disability by

giving back his voice and ultimately giving him everything he ever wanted or needed in life.

Like everyone else in society, David faced adversity in his life; however, unlike most people, he

never allowed that to stop him from achieving his goals. In the presence of the challenge of a

broken family and throat cancer, David was able to find a source of drive-through his therapist

and art so he could be able to overcome his own adversity.

Comparatively, Derrick Gordon faced adversity when he was teased all throughout

college for being suspected as a gay person. There were snickers and snide remarks in the locker

room and even outside of the basketball team. It was so much for him that he thought about

quitting the basketball team–the thing he loved most. The teasing slowly consumed Derrick,

making him lock himself away from everybody and wanted to run and hide where no one could

find him. Even though Derrick confronted his teammates about the harassment, Derrick was still
labeled as a gay person; it made him even more isolated from the team and other people at

school. He was searching for a family and space where he could be authentic and want he wanted

to be. Finally, Derrick was able to face and overcome his obstacle when he found a support

system of other openly gay athletes; they gave him the drive to live his life authentically and

come out to his teammate as a gay basketball player. Similar to what Derrick felt, I think that

people who are facing great challenges in their lives will find it possible to overcome those

obstacles with a caring support system, which will ultimately give that person the drive to move

through the obstacles and achieve their dreams. In his essay “Derrick Gordon Finds His

Freedom”, Cyd Zeigler exclaims, “Gordon found himself surrounded by openly gay men in

various corners of sports… meeting these people has been a revelation… coming out became

urgent for him” (Zeigler, 369). In other words, surrounding yourself with people who support

you, you will be able to find the drive to overcome your adversity and complete your goals. In

Gordon’s case, he felt that he could finally breathe with the weight lifted off his shoulders when

he found people that went through the same problems as him. But it was ultimately his own drive

that helped him overcome his problems and live a happy and fulfilling life.

Correspondingly, Sasha Fleischman faced adversity because they was born autistic and

was not expected to do great things, as well as set on fire due to their appearance. Even though

they was given these challenges, that did not stop them; they would grow up to attend MIT and

still identify as an agender individual. Similar to what Slater felt, I believe that challenges and

doubt from others do not always have to be a negative element that sets you back; you will be

able to overcome the obstacle by finding drive in wanting to prove people wrong and staying true

to yourself. In ​The 57 Bus,​ Dashka Slater illustrates, “ ‘Whereas, at MIT, I’m going to have to
work a little harder to seek out my people’ … the fire was becoming a more distant memory…

Sasha didn’t feel traumatized by what had happened… ‘I don’t really feel hated, especially since

after I was attacked, the whole world was supporting me’ ” (Slater, 308). Slater’s point is that the

feature of drive-in overcoming challenges can appear when you want something. Even though

they was doubted by a therapist and told not to have high expectations because they is autistic,

Sasha was still able to get accepted into MIT. Also wanting to become who they is, an agender,

helped Sasha realize her drive to overcome challenges.

Obviously, it is my opinion that the most important factor for overcoming adversity is

drive; therefore, there will always be people who think otherwise. Someone who disagrees with

my claim would say a person with drive could still fail to overcome their challenges. For

example, a basketball team with no talent or skill could have all the drive in the world, but not

win the game against a physically better team. Even though this could be true, people’s failure

can also turn into their motivation, or drive, which will make them persist at trying again to

overcome future obstacles in life. When the end of the school year neared a close, I totally

bombed my second-to-last exam in calculus BC during my junior year, even when I felt that I

had all the drive in the world because I had an 89% in the class. But with the thought of the

failed attempt to raise my grade to an “A” and the unsatisfied feeling for a “B”, my drive to ace

the final was even greater than before. Therefore, I received a score that boosted me up to 90% in

that class.

In society, everybody at some point in their lives will encounter adversity or challenges

that prevent them from getting to the place they want to be in life. The most essential piece to

overcome any challenge is an individual’s personal drive, which can be found in any aspect of
one’s life. Drive is the feature that keeps you moving forward in life, even when that obstacle

sets you back or when you want to give up. Drive is also the element that makes you pick

yourself right back up, encouraging and motivating you to get over that obstacle in your life so

you can achieve your goal. The person in my life that exhibits this is my family. During the

Vietnam War, my grandparents realized that their own home country was not an ideal place to

raise their family. Since Vietnam was their home and people were punished if they escaped the

dictatorship, my grandparents, as well as my parents, were faced with the challenge of fleeing the

country to find a better place. What caused them to actually leave the place they loved and risk

their lives to find a better place was their drive. Their drive pushed them to leave Vietnam

underneath the hell of war, even when they were scared and wanted to stay where the rest of

their family was. Drive made them realized that they could die in Vietnam, but have ample

opportunity if they fled. Drive is something you develop throughout your life; like others, my

grandparents did not have the drive to leave Vietnam when they were born, it was the

circumstances of the challenge that made them have the drive.