Overcoming Obstacles Essay Example

Imagine being stranded on a raft, in 2 plane crashes that killed most of your family, in a prison camp, playing football with one arm, and running in a marathon then being bombed. Austin, Louie, Sydney, and Shaquem experienced these struggles and are now telling their stories.  Individuals can overcome struggles by being optimistic, having determination, and persevering. 

Obstacles can be overcome by being optimistic. For example, Austin Hatch survived two plane crashes that killed most of his family. In the second plane crash, he was severely injured but achieved his lifelong goal of playing basketball at college for Michigan. According to Austin's uncle, he says, “you know I'm going to play again”(“Miraculous”).  It was crucial for Austin to be optimistic because this helped him achieve his goals. If Austin hadn’t he would have never learned that if he fought for what he wanted he could get it. He needed to be optimistic so he could have a fast recovery and get back to doing the sport he loves. Another example is Louis Zamperini. After his crew's plane crashed they were stranded on a boat and had nothing to eat. They had to go through the struggles of sunburns, deflated rafts, salt poisoning, sharks, and no hope. Later they used birds as bait and caught fish for food and rain for water. In “Unbroken'' Laura Hillenbrand, it states, “It was good to know land lay somewhere ahead”(Hillenbrand 123). If they weren't optimistic they would have not tried to survive. Instead, they were fighting for their lives because they wanted to get home to their families. Knowing that there was land somewhere ahead helped the crew survive the struggles on the raft. Though Austin and Louie's situations were different they used optimism as a key to overcoming their struggle. 

Additionally, obstacles can be overcome by being determined. For instance, Louie Zamperini was stranded on the raft and couldn’t catch food. He didn’t have bait and had to improvise. In the text the author states, “Twice more, Louie tried, and twice more, sharks stole the hook. Finally….. Louie felt a tug and pulled up the line”(Hillenbrand 113). It was important for Louie to not give up because the men wouldn’t have lived on the raft. Louie was determined because he didn’t give up when the sharks stole the hook, he kept going knowing that he had to get food for the men. Getting food was crucial to the men's survival and health. Without Louie being determined the men wouldn’t have survived.  With the struggle of starvation, Louie helped by being determined. In a similar way, Shaquem Griffin was determined to become an NFL football player. In the article “The amputee who showed everyone” Frank Bruni told the story of when he was little he had to get his wrist cut off. After this, he didn't change his dreams of playing football. He worked hard and got to the level of playing pro. In the article, it states, “that was the moment I realized I was always going to have to prove people wrong”(Bruni 1). Griffin didn’t give up when people told him he couldn’t play football. It was vital that he was determined because while making it to the NFL he taught other amputees that he didn’t have to change his goal because he had a hardship. If he was not determined he wouldn’t have shown to other people that you don’t need two hands to play football. Individuals can use determination to overcome struggles. 

The third way individuals can overcome struggles is by persevering. An example was Louie, when at a camp the Japanese soldiers wanted a laugh they had the former olympian Louie Zamperini run against a Japanese runner. Traveling to 4 different camps and being picked on, beaten, starved, and degraded surviving was a struggle. The author writes, “He lengthened his stride seized the lead and crossed the finish line. The captives whooped”(Hillenbrand 158). Louie was immensely weak and could barely run. He showed perseverance when he pushed himself over the finish line even though he was extremely exhausted. Winning helped Louie and the other captive to survive because it gave them hope that they are stronger than they seem. Another example is Sydney Corcoran. Sydney was running a marathon but 2 bombs stopped her before finishing. Sydney had bad injuries but she overcame the struggle of pain and doubt and started college. In the article “I survived the Boston Marathon bombing” Kristian Lewis states, “She remembers the sense of accomplishment she felt the first time she was able to walk across her room.¨ (lewis 7) She shows perseverance because Sydney pushed through her injuries and learned how to walk again. If she didn’t keep trying she wouldn’t have learned how to walk. Sydney didn’t let her injuries stop her from trying to go back to her life. Sydney showed that no matter the struggle she could overcome it by persevering. Perseverance helped Sydney and Louie overcome their obstacles.