Over time society has relaxed and the value of hard work has really lost base with the younger generation. This essay is written by a young girl named Jessica Hemauer as she braces her way through growing up with a “tough” life. Although it may seem a bit old fashioned, Jessica’s parents are helping her in more ways than she will not realize until later in life. The essay tells the tales of how she grew up living on a farm and struggled to find the happy balance between farm chores, school, and her social life. It is evident that she was targeting those who also have some sort of obstacles in their life because the essay transitions from her hardships to her success. Jessica can tell her story and gives readers a first hand experience on …show more content…
After her father gives Jessica and her siblings the freedom to become active in school, she gets involved in clubs, sports, even a job. Because her “life growing up had been much different from the lives of [her] peers” (Hemauer 106), Jessica learned the value of hard work and time management from a young age and she carried it with her as she got older. She says, “I have always had a challenging amount of responsibility, and I learned to complete tasks in a timely fashion” (Hemauer 106). This proves that Jessica had struggled with this as a child, and kept these skills with her and to show that it got better and ultimately helped her. It may be difficult for one to believe something that currently is unsatisfying is actually helping, but in Jessica’s case she explains how her opinion changed. “Though I hated it growing up, working on the farm has taught me many lessons about life, and it has helped shaped me into the individual I am today” (Hemauer 106). Jessica’s situation really illustrates to readers and shows them that you may be wrong about something, and it may be of assistance to you in the end. In all, Jessica’s own experiences on the farm, in school, and later in other activities show that she first hand experienced it and is credible in her
Although, Conventional wisdom dictates that the age at which children started work was connected to the poverty of the family. Griffith presents two autobiographies to put across her point. Autobiography of Edward Davis who lacked even the basic necessities of life because of his father’s heavy drinking habit and was forced to join work at a small age of six, whereas the memoir of Richard Boswell tells the opposite. He was raised up in an affluent family who studied in a boarding school. He was taken out of school at the age of thirteen to become a draper’s apprentice.
It can be hard to live in high poverty and come out and be highly successful, but the author Wes proves it can be done. I also think this book shows how important it is to make good life choices and to listen more to your parents when growing up, so you don’t stray on the wrong path in life.
Too often, students are taught that their lives are defined by who they are and what they do, not by circumstances. But circumstances can be very crucial to determining how a person’s life is shaped. It’s no secret that not all schools and neighborhoods are created equal. Some schools offer advanced classes, and college prep, and opportunities, while some schools don’t even have textbooks. Even within the circumstances, there are circumstances. The students in the latter school that lacks textbooks may have parents who go the extra mile to ensure that they have more opportunities, or could have parents who don’t have the resources to do that. Environment and circumstance can make a huge difference, and Wes Moore’s The Other Wes Moore is a fantastic
Studs Terkel published a nonfiction Working which consists many interviews among different people’s descriptions of their jobs. Through this book, Terkel demonstrates the meaning of work to different people and how their work experiences shape their attitudes about their lives. Among these interviewers, Maggie Holmes is a domestic while Dave Bender is a factory owner. Although their wages are different, Maggie Holmes and Dave Bender’s attitudes about their works are contradictory. People who love their works are passionate and happy about their lives and express less complain than those people who do not like their jobs.
The poem describes workers to be “Killing the overtime ‘cause the dream is your life, / Refusing to take holidays or go home to your spouse, / But for many the overtime comes, ‘cause the work is not done. / Deadlines to be met. So you continue to dream like a war vet, / Having flashbacks to make you shiver and scream” (Jones, stanza 7, lines 2-6). Jones reinforces that overworking for an incentive of money does not give one a sense of gratification, and it also distracts them from the values that should matter more to them than anything else. Both Kohn and Jones have a similar approach to showing the reader the effect that overworking can have on a person, and how it will change their values in life, causing unhappiness. Many students go through school dispirited and do not join various clubs and activities for their own enjoyment. A friend of Kohn’s who was also a high school guidance counsellor had a student with ‘…amazing grade and board scores. It remained only to knock out a dazzling essay on his college applications that would clinch the sale. “Why don’t we start with some books that
Family, education and a person’s opportunities are significant elements that collectively define an individual, as demonstrated by both Wes Moore’s. Depending on the opportunities offered to you and whether you decide to take advantage of them through hard work and persistence will result in your success or failure in the end. Wes Moore explains “The chilling truth is that his story could have been mine. The tragedy is that my story could have been his” goes to show that certain factors affect how you will be as an adult regardless of similar or differentiating backgrounds. (Moore xi).
Having a family of low socioeconomic status inevitably leaves me to reside in a low-income neighborhood which makes it more likely for me to witness the tragedies, adversities and hardships that people go through [not excluding myself]. Being conscious of this kind of environment, and these kinds of events, creates a pressure on me for having the aim to achieve social mobility in order to escape the aforementioned environment so that my own children could witness one less abominable aspect of life. Moreover, my family’s low socioeconomic status does not authorize me the privilege of being raised with the concerted cultivation method that kids of high socioeconomic status are more prone to being raised in. My family did not have the financial resources that granted us access to extra classes or lessons of instrumental classes, swimming practices, karate practices, or any other extracurricular activities that people of high socioeconomic status would be able to afford. This invisible fence that prevents me from these extracurricular activities enables me to having more appreciation towards the hobbies and talents that other people have. Plus, the fact that my family’s low socioeconomic status acts as a barrier from enjoying expensive luxuries in life creates a yearning [in me] to enjoy them later on in my life, in addition to acting as the fuel to my wish of achieving social mobility in anticipation of providing my own children with the luxurious vacations, gadgets, beachhouse, new cars that I could not
In the process of reading and completing the book The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian it became quite clear to me that me and Junior had similarities in our lives. Junior grew up in a household that didn’t have that much income. As readers we found that out early in the book. Some nights Junior wouldn’t have a meal to eat. When Oscar Juniors dog got sick the family didn’t have the money to pay for his medication so they had to shot their sons dog. As the book went on there was numerous more examples about the role poverty played in Juniors life. I myself grew up in a household that didn’t have that much income so I related to Juniors experiences. Growing up there were countless times where I would want new clothes, games,
Jessica Hathaway never watched television; there wasn't one in her house and she wasn't allowed to watch anyone else's. Truthfully, we all could use a little less television. Jessica didn't go to school, Lisa felt the children should forge their own way in life. Real life the best tutor, experience the best preparation. That could apply to an eighteen year old, but a seven year old? Lisa failed to file a home-schooling plan with local authorities, another display of her anti-conformist attitude. School is an unfit place for my children, Lisa has said.
A major factor in the development of character through personal struggle is that it shows a person what they are willing to do to succeed. One example of this is the acclaimed author J.K. Rowling. She and her daughter suffered from poverty prior to, and during the beginning of writing the infamous Harry Potter series. She had to get undesirable jobs, and write in coffee shops without a computer or copy machine, which meant that she had to manually process each copy that she sent to publishers. Through every problem thrown at her, she persevered, and proved to herself and others that she would do anything to succeed and support her family. Everyone has limits that they can push, and lines
If everyone thinks that without struggle, it is easy to obtain their goals that is entirely false. Struggle comes from the progress of our success and achievement. It is an indication that we poured all of our time and patience into the things we pursue. Jeannette Walls, the author of The Glass Castle, explain her struggles. She survives by finding foods from the trash can and earns money by babysitting, exchanging scrap metal, finding jobs, and from her parents. As a graduating student from high school, receiving my diploma is an indication that I ...
What would you do if you knew you were going to die. What would you do if you knew you were going to die, and nobody would save you. Irena Sendler helped thousands of people not have these questions. Sendler is a hero who showed bravery and selflessness when she saved over 2,500 Jewish children from Nazi concentration camps. Sendler was born in 1910 in a Polish town of Otwock. Sendler was a lonely child growing up, and her dad inspired her to help others. When her father died while helping diseased Jews, just like her father, she would devote her life to saving others. As soon as the Nazi tanks came to her town, Sendler knew she had to do something. A hero is any brave, selfless, and courageous individual who takes initiative to help others
When nothing is going right in life, what do you do? Do you just quit and hope for the best or do you pick yourself up and work even harder to succeed. Have you ever felt hopeless and full of despair in life? Iliana Roman, a single mother of three children and a owner of a hair salon, kindles the message that individuals who face adversity can still persevere in life and it is never too late, she conveys this through her memoir “First Job.” At seventeen years old Roman became pregnant on accident. This lead to her life to do a complete one eighty degrees, leading her dropped out of high school. She was at the point of no return, she simply could not hold down a proper job, the only way to support herself and her child is working three to four
Esther has the privilege of fifteen years of scholarships; however, the pressures of upholding the scholarship kid image along with collegiate expectations begin to consume her. Coming from a poor family, Esther has had to rely on her grades to determine her future. Her grades have gotten her a scholarship to Smith College and an internship at Mademoiselle Magazine in New York. Esther thinks that she ...
The poem, “What Work Is” by Philip Levine is an intricate and thought-provoking selection. Levine uses a slightly confusing method of describing what work actually is. He gives the idea that work is very tedious, however necessary. It is miserable, however, it is a sacrifice that is essentially made by many, if not all able-bodied members of society. Many have to sacrifice going to a concert or a movie, but instead works jobs with hardly a manageable salary. This poem seems to have a focus on members of the lower-class or middle-class who live paycheck to paycheck and are unable to put money away for a future for their children or for a vacation and how difficult life can be made to be while living under this type of circumstance. Levine