Essay on Challenges Odysseus Faces
When reading the Odyssey originally, I felt like nothing in my life compared to the challenges Odysseus faced. Despite my doubts about the Odyssey, I’ve come to recognize just how much my life resembles the trials Odysseus had to face. Although my battles may not be against sirens or lethal whirlpools they’re still just as monstrous to me.
I get distracted more often than not; it takes so much effort just to stay focused on a single task. The long sleepless nights I have desperately trying to finish that one assignment that’s due the next day. I’m reminded of Odysseus’ crew and how they fell to the temptation of the lotus flowers “Those who ate this honeyed plant, the Lotus, never cared to report, nor return: they longed to stay forever” (lines 97-99, The Lotus Eaters). I reflect on the different flowers in my life, and I realize that even though they may be dissonant colors and inconsistent sizes, they’re all still the same lotuses and they’re all just as addicting. Even when the things I get distracted by have nothing in common, and they change day by day, I still struggle to pull myself away from them all the same. For most people it’s winter, their flowers are few and far between, but for me, it’s always been spring. I am fascinated with the world around me, with fresh flowers blooming every day and all I want to do is stop and stare at the scenery. Everyone has their Island of Lotus Eaters, but for me and others with ADHD, every day, and every task feels like a new flower my brain can’t seem to get enough of.
Though it may feel impossible, and I might not be able to do it alone, I know I can pull myself away from the flowers my brain doesn’t want me to give up. Therefore, the most important part of my Odyssey is the people I have with me because I know that I can make it through whatever I need to if I have them to support me. Just as Odysseus was able to defeat the suitors with the help of Telemachus and his servants “Our finest lad is down! You killed the best in Ithaca.” (Lines 1432-1433 Odysseus’ Revenge). I strive to surround myself with people I know who will be by my side no matter what and will urge me to do what’s best. Looking back on even just the past week I can say with confidence that I’ve done that successfully. I’m proud of the people I’ve surrounded myself with, because they help me be a better person, I make better choices because of them. As I grow and mature with my friends and the people around me, I see how much they’ve made me better. I can only hope that I influence them in the same way.
Undoubtedly the person who has helped me the most is my sister. Throughout the past year or so I’ve gotten much closer to her as I realized she’s gone through the same things I have and made it out on the other side. I look back to a few months ago, back when I first really noticed how similar we were. Only then did I really realize how much she took care of me and my brother when the people around us couldn’t. I think back to all the times she protected me and listened when no one else would. When she held me as I cried because I knew something was very wrong but was too young to understand why, was too innocent to realize why I didn’t get to see that uncle anymore. When I was too oblivious to realize why we needed to move, too naive to realize that my so-called hero at the time was the very reason we were hopping couches and living in motels. I think about Telemachus and about how his childhood was cut short. I think about how he matured throughout his journey in his desperate attempts to find out the fate of his father “Telemachus, who, like Penelope, still hopes for his father’s return, has journeyed to Pylos and Sparta to learn what he can about his father’s fate.” (pg. 596 ‘Twenty years gone, and I am back again’). Then I think back to my sister, who grew up so fast, because she needed to fill the place of a parent and a half. While Telemachus lost his teenage years in search of his missing father, my sister lost hers to replace the father who wasn’t one anymore.
Thankfully in the past year or so I’ve realized that there’s a lot I can’t control, I’ve learned that my brain doesn’t function the way neurotypicals do. I know now that it’s okay to struggle, it’s okay to take a break and come back when I can focus again, it’s okay if the lights are too loud, it’s okay if the sound of people talking around me makes me want to claw my ears out, it’s okay if everything is too much. It’s okay because I have people to help me through it. I’m lucky to have the adults in my life that I do, the ones who struggled with the same things growing up and thought it was all in their head, because now they know it’s not, and so do I. So even if I get distracted easily and I struggle to stay on task, I’m not broken; and I know that I’m not alone.
