Narrative Essay Example: Life of Frederick Douglass

Frederick Douglass once said, “If there is no struggle, there is no progress.”  Douglass believed that the struggle is what makes you stronger. This quote makes me wonder what was the reason behind the quote and what struggles he had gone through. Frederick Douglass was an escaped slave who became an activist that wanted to abolish slavery and wanted women's rights. This compels me to think that if everything is perfect, you won't be able to accomplish something. Frederick Douglass was a twenty-three-year-old African/ black American who wanted freedom of speech, freedom for colored people, and women's rights. He was born to a black mother and a white father in an enslaved home. He became a slave at the age of fourteen and tried to escape slavery on September 3, 1838. Douglass has inspired me with his words and they have shown me that not everything gets handed to you, you have to work for it. Frederick started his activism in the year 1847 fighting for women's rights in Seneca Falls, New York. He was the only African/ black American who attended the Seneca Falls convention fighting for women's rights. This inspires me to think that no matter how different you are from others, don't change yourself to please others. At the convention, Douglass spoke forcefully making his point Saying “everybody should be treated equally and not different by their skin color or gender. After all the fighting for women's rights, Douglass's work had paid. Frederick Douglass made it possible for women to have the same equality as men. As time progressed people were impressed with his work and they started to follow in his footsteps. And by him showing people the freedom they finally understood that they get freedom and that they have rights. Frederick Douglass has motivated me to work hard and to not be discouraged from what I want to achieve and that even though things might get hard I shouldn't be discouraged from my goals. He has shown me I can help people in many ways like, to fight for what I want to achieve. and many more. He also left a legacy that has impacted many young people like me to keep our heads high and to not give up and still after his death people still tell stories of him. On how he worked hard for what he wanted and achieved his goal and gave other people the opportunity to have the freedom to not be judged by their skin color or to not feel different from others. Now in 2021, I have learned many things from Douglass but one thing that stood out about Douglass was his quotes like, “If there is no struggle, there is no progress. This quote has made me wonder what he meant by him saying struggle is what makes you stronger. And I wonder how the struggle that I go through is what shapes me and makes me stronger. I have thought of what it was like for Douglass to get support from people being an African/ black American becoming an advocate. But overall Douglass has taught me an important lesson which is not to give up but to believe in yourself.