Premium Essay

Adversity Research Paper

Submitted By
Words 1090
Pages 5
When adversity is thrown into life at the most unexpected moments, people react differently. Some exceptional people can make all the little things that are difficult seem so minor. They can see things not everyone can. Narcissistic perspectives of first world societies can often blur the big picture. We get so caught up in the little things that everything going on around us can become corrupt in the blink of an eye.

This past summer I travelled to Ecuador for two weeks with a charity group called Me to We. I had known of the group since middle school and was a part of my schools Me to We Club for four years. Over those years I helped our school raise over $20,000 to go towards building a village in India. I decided it was time to take …show more content…
I didn’t get much sleep as I had to catch a flight to Toronto at 6:00am; and the fact that I was headed to another hemisphere without my parents to keep me organized and in check. After arriving in Toronto, our group of 25 kids and 2 adults commenced on our mission to Quito, Ecuador. After touring the city, it was time to venture deep into the Amazon jungle. An estimated 8 hour bus ride expanded itself to 12 hours due to two large landslides on the winding mountain road. Traditional dancing and celebratory music awaited us in the small community of Hatun Urko. Although a barrier of language stood between myself and the rest of the community, it wasn’t hard to quickly form bonds. After our welcoming ceremony we began construction on the school. Long hard hours under the blazing heat of the Amazonian sun were not simple to undergo. Hand sifting gravel into sand, mixing heaps of cement and water with shovels, laying hundreds of bricks to precise measurement. None of these tasks were easy feats, and it was hard sometimes to see the reward that would come of …show more content…
Then, I found a sense of calmness. I recalled the actions of the young boy in Hatun Urko who found happiness in giving. Although Richard faced the harsh reality of poverty everyday, he managed to never stop smiling. You see now, Richard had an amazing gift. He was able to see the big picture. The big picture that has become so clustered and so narcissistic in our Country that we have not a clue what it is. To Richard, community was the big picture. He allowed me to find this sense of community, when I believed that it had become completely demolished by corrupt perspectives of right and

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Horace Adversity Research Paper

...Argument Essay - Prompt 2009-A “Adversity has the effect of eliciting talents which in prosperous circumstances would have lain dormant.” -Horace Consider this quotation about adversity from the Roman poet Horace. Then write an essay that defends, challenges, or qualifies Horace's assertion about the role of adversity or political hardship, danger, misfortune, etc. plays in developing a person's character. Support your argument with appropriate evidence from your reading, observation, or experience. Molly Harris Mrs. Devost AP Language and Composition 5 February 2024 The Roman poet Horace wrote that “Adversity has the effect of eliciting talents which in prosperous circumstances would be lain dormant”. Horace’s claim is that when people face adversity and challenges, they build a better, stronger character. This claim is not limited to just daily challenges, but, in times of misfortune and hardship,...

Words: 1392 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Overcoming Adversity Research Paper

...Adversity is a difficult thing to face, but it shows us who we are. Some people say that there are three ways to react to adversity, carrot who softens to when boiled, eggs that harden, and the coffee bean that changes the water. This is a question we have to ask ourselves. I react differently to every adversity, as a carrot, egg, and coffee bean. Sometimes, when I face adversity I become soft like carrot. This is the worst way to respond. Being a carrot is awful; I feel powerless to do anything. This was the way I dealt with adversity when I was a child. I would cry and ask my parents to correct the problem, never taking responsibility. However, I like to believe that I will overcome this way in time as I grow older, and realise that...

Words: 372 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Overcoming Adversity Research Paper

...Baylee Milam 523069 Many people say that life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it. Although my life has been very comfortable I have faced hatred, anger, and hostility many places I’ve been. I have and been faced with this and I still continue to see the best in the people who portray the anger or hostility. In many places that I have worked other employees have bad work ethics and bad behavior but yet I still continue to think the best of them. So although I have not faced much adversity, my attitude toward people is the adversity I have had to overcome. Seeing the best in people has been both my demise and best feature. I take the hostility and the hatred from people and am still able to see the good in them. I am the...

Words: 688 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Childhood Adversity Research Paper

...Childhood Adversity Almost half the nation’s children have experienced at least one or more types of childhood trauma. (Stevens) Childhood adversity is due to a dysfunctional childhood. (Pederson) There are many things that affect children’s childhood. Neglect and abuse, Witnessing domestic violence, Parents with drinking or drug abuse problems, and many other ways. This can change the brain and have lifelong effects on a person. There are ways to help people who have childhood adversity. You can also tell when someone is going through childhood adversity also. How can we aid victims of childhood adversity? So many things can affect children and their childhood’s. Each child can be affected differently in different situations. Neglect...

Words: 1292 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Personal Responsibility

...Accountability and responsibility are sometimes synonymous with each other. In the aspect of being personally responsible is having the primary obligation to something and directly being the cause of triumph or the cause of failure. Even though life events are sometimes out of your control, self accountability is critical when you need to hold a certain level of responsibility because you alone are in control of your life. A technique to control what goes on in your life, and in your day to day routine is to have a schedule or a method to manage time. In academic writing it is important to use to current and valid sources to support ideas or concepts. In order to write and unbiased paper with relevant and accurate information sources must be evaluated properly. Having perseverance through adversity will allow you to maintain a high level of responsibility. A lot of times people blur accountability and responsibility. In some cases this may be true; however regarding personal responsibility the two are very separate. To be accountable is to be obligated to something specific. Currently in our society we have taken a huge step backwards in accountability, we have so many diagnoses and various other ways to escape personal accountability that it has become a paradox to the past. In the past, as a nation we were more accountable for our actions as a society. We were self sufficient and self reliant, we did not look to others to relieve us of our responsibility. For accountability...

Words: 1168 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Charles Spurgeon

...Application………………………………………………………………………9 Conclusion…………………………………………………….…………………………………..9 Bibliography………………………………………………………………………………………9 Introduction Theology is defined as the systematic study of the nature of God and the nature of religious belief and truth. Given the broad history of Christianity, one can imagine the difficulty in summarizing the basics of Christian theology. Though the scope of this paper is not to inform the reader of historical data and information regarding theological foundations, a foundation must be laid down in order to fully understand the content within. An in depth definition and brief history of pastoral theology will be presented in order to provide clarification for the topic of this paper. Among Christians, mainly from the realm of seminary and other educational settings, Charles H. Spurgeon is commonly known as the “Prince of Preachers.” The impact that C.H. Spurgeon has had on modern day Christianity is legendary and all aspects of his pastoral ministry should be studied and fully understood. It is the intent of this research paper to educate, investigate and solidify the question that still remains, what was the specific theological foundation for Charles H....

Words: 3194 - Pages: 13

Free Essay

Prevalence and Correlates of Hoarding Behavior in a Community-Based Sample

...ARTICLE IN PRESS Behaviour Research and Therapy 46 (2008) 836– 844 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Behaviour Research and Therapy journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/brat Prevalence and correlates of hoarding behavior in a community-based sample Jack F. Samuels a,Ã, O. Joseph Bienvenu a, Marco A. Grados a, Bernadette Cullen a, Mark A. Riddle a, Kung-yee Liang b, William W. Eaton c, Gerald Nestadt a a Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 600 N. Wolfe Street, Meyer 109, Baltimore, MD 21287-7228, USA Department of Biostatistics, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA c Department of Mental Health, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA b a r t i c l e in fo Article history: Received 14 February 2008 Received in revised form 7 April 2008 Accepted 8 April 2008 Keywords: Hoarding Prevalence Risk factors Personality disorders Comorbidity abstract Little is known about the prevalence and correlates of hoarding behavior in the community. We estimated the prevalence and evaluated correlates of hoarding in 742 participants in the Hopkins Epidemiology of Personality Disorder Study. The prevalence of hoarding was nearly 4% (5.3%, weighted) and was greater in older than younger age groups, greater in men than women, and inversely related to household income. Hoarding was associated with alcohol dependence;...

Words: 7477 - Pages: 30

Premium Essay

Employee Morale

...Mitigating the Adversity of Outsourcing: Outsourcing from the Employee’s Perspective Schillen & Steinke Mitigating the Adversity of Outsourcing: Outsourcing from the Employee’s Perspective Sarah J. Schillen Seattle Pacific University USA sschillen@gmail.com Gerhard Steinke Seattle Pacific University USA gsteinke@spu.edu ABSTRACT This paper explores how outsourcing activities and decisions put the well-being of the remaining employees at risk, ultimately affecting productivity and creating further costs to the employer. It highlights four potential threats to remaining employees: trust, job satisfaction, motivation, and stress. The paper provides several suggestions for mitigating these impacts, including communication to retain trust, acting ethically to ensure satisfied employees, seeking an understanding of employee perspectives to build employee motivation, and providing good planning along with training and development to reduce employee stress. INTRODUCTION Globalization provides organizations with more options than ever before. Business leaders are continuously encouraged to adapt, reevaluate, and strategically improve processes and approaches. Best practices are reinvented rapidly in attempt to keep up with market trends. The quest to recognize new methods for increasing revenue has become the inspiration for exploring new management techniques and strategies. One such rising trend in the advent of global markets is that of outsourcing. Common purposes for outsourcing...

Words: 5411 - Pages: 22

Free Essay

Adolescence and Addiction

...Running Head: HSCO 500 – RESEARCH PAPER TOPIC Overcoming a Forced Disability Promises R. Huff Liberty University HSCO 500 – Introduction to Human Services For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. Romans 8:18 – 21 What is disability? Disability is the consequence of an impairment that may be physical, cognitive, mental, sensory, emotional, developmental, or some combination of these. A disability may be present from birth, or occur during a person’s lifetime. What is child molestation? Child molestation is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation. I choose to research the effects of experiencing child molestation has on the mental, emotional, and human development of an individual. Research becomes more attractive and trustworthy when the researcher is able to provide concrete evidence to support noted hypothesis and or theories. Throughout my research paper, theories and documented claims will be utilized...

Words: 344 - Pages: 2

Free Essay

Okinawa Culture Paper

...and Discipline By Outline Thesis: This paper will examine two distinctive traits; resilience and discipline; and how it forged the culture of the Okinawa people. I. History A. The Ryukyu Kingdom occupied a distinct position to the south of Japan. B. Sho Shoken was indeed an important figure to solidify the culture or Okinawa. II. Battle of Okinawa A. The Battle of Okinawa begins on April of 1945 testing the strength of the Okinawan people B. After the war, Okinawa begins to integrate with the U.S. Military forces. III. Beliefs A. The religion of the Okinawa people consists of early Chinese and Japanese influences. B. In ancestor worship, the core of this religious practice is the ancestral shrine. IV. Culture A. Customs 1. Okinawa’s customs have survived throughout the ages; including distinctive modernization. B. Courtesy is one of the most prominent traits instilled within Okinawan culture. B. Centenarians 1. Okinawa is home to the most documented centenarians in the world. Conclusion: In closing, the Okinawa people have endured many hardships that would have crumbled their society as a whole. From the times of the Ryukyu Kingdom until the present time, Okinawa’s rich history consisted of facing adversity when uncertainty presented itself. Okinawa’s resilience to such adversity is a testament to their beliefs and customs they still hold today. The Battle of Okinawa...

Words: 2233 - Pages: 9

Free Essay

Rsca Scale

...Author’s Note This paper was prepared for COUN 505 taught by Dr. Tina Walsh Introduction Resilience is a complex construct with many definitions. Most frequently, resilience can be defined as one’s ability to “bounce back” from an adverse situation. It is “interactive and contextual” (Prince-Embury & Saklofske, 2013, pg.19). However, some believe resiliency is a personality trait. There is some aversion to the use of resiliency, however, as it gives the impression that some are better than others. Resilience is applicable to both adults and children. This paper will focus on the childhood aspect of resilience. Over the years, it has been a topic of interest among researchers as to how some children manage to overcome adversity and thrive, while others suffer psychological and physical distress. As a result, much of the early research carried out on resilience looked at “three sets of factors implicated in the development of resilience: (1) attributes of the children themselves, (2) aspects of their families, and (3) characteristics of their wider social environments” (Vanderbilt-Adriance & Shaw, 2008, pg. 31). Recently, research has shifted from identifying key characteristics of resilient children to understanding how these factors affect a child’s ability to handle adversity. Despite extensive research on the subject, there is still controversy over how to apply these findings for practical use. This can be contributed to the fact that past research used multiple tests...

Words: 3734 - Pages: 15

Premium Essay

Resilience In The United States Army

...This paper will discuss the idea of resiliency and how the United States Army (USA) has applied it over the years, as resilience is imperative to the US Soldier. The USA is a group, through whom land based military operations inflicts and suffers casualties on a regular basis. To kill another person or to lose a loved one is an extreme burden to bear, and many Soldiers throughout the years have not been able to cope with such a hardship. To explore this topic, one must consider the modern idea of resilience psychology, sociological necessities, the Warfighter through time, and the way ahead. The idea of what it means to be a resilient person has certainly changed throughout the years. Thinking back to the previous generations...

Words: 1690 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

Blessings Of Adversity By James E. Faust: Article Analysis

...Staying Positive When I began to do research for this paper my first thought was, what exactly is resilience? Resilience is adapting to adversity. It is the ability to roll with the punches that come in life. When stress, adversity, or trauma attacks, a person will still experience anger, grief, and pain, but they are able to keep functioning. Everyone needs to be a little more resilient in life, having a more positive outlook on trials that frequently come each individual’s way. “The Blessings of Adversity” is a talk given by James E. Faust in February of 1998. Faust, at the time, was the second counselor in the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. The main audiences of this talk are members of The Church through out the entire world. In fact he directly mentions the followers through out his entire talk. Faust specifically talks about financial hardships that cause stress in many people’s lives. He states, “Many Saints throughout the world have a difficult time making ends meet” then making it apparent that many individuals who go through low times in their life rise to be very successful, but humble people. This was a significant time for this talk to be given because around 2002 to 2003 there was an economic recession that affected the United States. I personally feel like this talk was preparing many members...

Words: 1169 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Ldr-324 Application Paper 1

...Application Paper 1 Select one of the eight leaders discussed in the Wills' text in Chapters 1 through 8 and discuss why a consideration of his or her leadership at a former point in time is important to an understanding of leadership today. Note: This activity will require that you read about the leader in additional sources. Be sure to properly document any additional sources you use. In selecting a leader within the first module, I chose the person who I knew of, yet I knew very little about in Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR). In our readings, and through further research it is clear that through his leadership, FDR's legacy strives in our world today. Many leaders throughout history have been known to face their share of adversity. A common theme in our readings, whether it be social barriers, disputes, or personal challenges, one common attribute among the leaders in our readings is their ability to overcome adversity, and lead their followers to a better state. It can be interpreted that FDR's trials and tribulations with polio may have been a defining moment in his life and political career. It is interesting to note that prior to his health battle with polio, FDR had been known as "too anxious to please", a "sissy" who had lived a sheltered life and seemed to lack self-confidence (Wills, 1994). Overcoming polio, FDR seems to seize an opportunity to take control of his life by learning to walk again, and instilling a calm confidence in his character that he...

Words: 591 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Psychosocial Development Through the Play Years

...Contents Introduction 3 Stages of Psychosocial Development 3 The First Two Years 3 The Play Years 4 Psychosocial Developmental Challenges 6 Possible Causes: Maltreatment 6 Possible Causes: Family Structure 7 Possible Causes: Environmental Adversity 8 Influencers of Child Psychosocial Development 9 Teachers 9 Gender Roles 10 Child’s Play 11 Conclusion 11 References 13 Introduction Psychosocial development looks at the emotional and social development processes. There are many theories when it comes to how psychosocial development occurs, including the two most well-known theories by Sigmund Freud and Erik Erikson. For the purpose of this paper I will be focusing on Erikson’s psychoanalytic theory of development for children through the play years, or age six. In addition to theories of development I will take a look into developmental challenges and the factors that affect development and the possible effects they may have. I will do this by taking a look at applicable case studies presenting their findings. The possible causes of developmental challenges that I will focus on are maltreatment, family structure and environmental adversity. I will also look into the influencers of psychosocial development on children and the impact they have on a child’s psychosocial development, including care givers, gender roles, and child’s play. Stages of Psychosocial Development The First Two Years ...

Words: 2966 - Pages: 12