Che’Zelle Bennett
StreetSquash
Age 12
According to Webster’s Dictionary, an adversity is a condition or experience that has serious or continued misfortune and hardship. I define adversity as a problem in life. If your problem is solved or overcome, opportunities of success or a better and more prosperous life. I also feel that adversity can become a life learned lesson and an experience that may help with future dilemmas in life.
I have encountered adversity a numerous amount of times in my life. Although I have many problems, the most important one is helping my mother care for my younger brother and my younger sister. As a twelve year old girl, this is a hardship because my mother works two jobs and my seventeen year old brother and I have to baby sit our siblings the days that mother is unavailable.
This is also a hardship because although I have homework of my own and other work to do, I also have to check the work of my sister and brother and assure my mother that they completed their homework correctly. I have problems with this situation because I am always tired in school from staying awake, waiting for my brother and sister to fall silently asleep.
Living with a mother with two jobs is a misfortune because although we receive everything we need and more, there are times my mother may not be able to attend my school performances and other events. At times I feel hurt and sad but I know that as a single parent, my mother has many responsibilities. Another reason this is a misfortune is because my sister and I go to a Catholic school and sometimes my mother has to use her entire pay check to keep up with tuition.
I have overcome my problem by trying to look at the good things that this has brought me. Although my mother is not with me most weekends because of her work, I always have some money to go out with my friends or hang out with my father. Another thing that makes me feel better is that sometimes when my mother has extra money my brothers, my sister and I are fortunate enough to have wonderful Christmases and birthdays. My grandmother is always there to help me when I feel sad or angry because I don’t always have my mother with me.
The experience that this has given me is how to strong. This has not taught me how to be physically strong but to be strong mentally and spiritually. I feel that it has given me mental strength because now whenever anything goes wrong in my life I know who I can talk to and how to deal with the situation and its consequences. My situation has given me spiritual strength because now for the rest of my life I have the ability to listen and care for other people’s problems such as my own. I was awarded with understanding, a rare gift that I will always treasure.
Brandy Williamson
StreetSquash
Age 13
There’s always a time in your life where you want to cry and scream or even run away because you’re under so much stres. But that’s the time when you take a deep breath and let your tears run down your face and think about how you’re going through this hardship which is adversity.
I was in the 4th grade and I was so excited about this year because I had the same teacher from last year. He was the best and had a great sense of humor. His name was Mr. Gayles. The first day of school I was disapointed that my teacher wasn’t there. Two weeks later Mr Gayles came to school and he was so disappointed at the class and how we were just loafing around and not doing any work. I was so excited to see him. He said a few words to the class and walked away.
Three months went past and throughout that time we had a subsitute teacher. And that’s when I began to worry. Until one day I was in class and everyone was going crazy. But everyone stopped and became silent when the principal and the guidance counselor came in and told the class that Mr. Gayles had died. That’s when tears fell down my eyes and my hands were sweaty. I cried and walked out of the room. I couldn’t believe it. That guidance counselor came and got me and since that day I never got so close to another teacher again.
Through this hard time I shed tears tremendously but I knew that some day it would become a memory. So I just listened to music to heal my sorrow.
Ron Turetzky
StreetSquash
Age 12
Adversity is misfortune. It is a stroke of bad luck. It is when a bad everny happens. Adversity can vary from small misfortunes, such as getting a stain on your favorite shirt, to big things, such as losing someone close to you. It is when that particular moment happends you are hit with it. Adversity for many people is hunger, war, and loss.
I have experienced adversity in the form of war. I lived in Israel, during the second Intifada, a Palestinian uprising. In this period of time a town called Sederot, and the villages around it, got bombed. They got bombed a lot. It was almost a daily basis. Sometimes 15 Kassam missiles per day. When I was a child I knew about this war from the news and newspaper, although I didn’t live in Sederot every time something would happen we would hear helicopters above us going to Sederot and we would be worried. The kids that lived in Sederot, and the villages around it, had to stay vigilants at all times by listening to the alarms and listening to their teachers because they would bombed everywhere, even in schools. These conditions were adverse for the kids because it was hard for them to live like that, and it was a very bad experience for them. It was hard for them to run to shelters all the time, worried that their houses might get blown up.
I overcame it by being more aware of the war. I overcame the fear by learning about the war. I found out that the police and government had set up safe rooms in the houses and bomb shelters underground. After finding that out, I was more relaxed about the children’s situation. From the experience I learned that wars will always happen and that the only thing we can do is keep safe and not interfere. This experience showed me that wars are real and that they will be here forever. I think wars are a necessary evil and we need to accept them and try to run and hide from them because there is nothing we can do about them.
Raymond Moore
StreetSquash
Age 16
Adversity and Me
Everyone in the world suffers adversity in one point of their lives. Adversity is defined as a state of hardship or affliction. I simply define adversity as a rough patch in someone’s life or an experience someone goes through that has a very lasting effect onhe or she. I’ve been through minor adversities in my life, like losing my squash matches in seventh grade and dealing with a crush moving to another state, but the most important one that I look back on is the day my father moved. He didn’t just kick my mom, my sister, and me to the curb, but my parents felt that they should separate. I look back at that moment as one of the toughest experiences in my life.
Not many little boys grow up with their dads in their lives, but I am lucky enough to have a father. My mom kicked my dad out because of arguments and problems. At frst, I didn’t know my dad was leaving, until I walked him out of the building. It wasn’t like he was leaving that state because he moved to the Bronx. Him leaving didn’t really affect me at first, but I thought about it at school and I cried. My mom had to take me home because I was distraught. He was the one to inspire me to be who I am because he constantly reminded me of how proud he was of me. He always says that I have the potential to be anything I want to be. Now that the inspiration and his presence was temporarily gone, I became sad and angry. My feelings didn’t affect my progress in school, but it was a hard time in my life.
I don’t remember exactly when I got over the fact that he moved, but I remember how I got over it. I got over it because of all the family outings and his visits to my apartment that reminded me that he was here for me. Also my sister and my mom told me that this was bound to happen and there was no way to reverse it. The moments of adversity gradually turned into moments of prosperity. The fun moments and the constant visits from Dad made me get over the fact that he simply doesn’t live with me. Now, my mom and dad are just friends and I would like to keep it that way. All of the arguments that my mom and dad had were a nightmare and I don’t want that to happen again. My dad now lives 2 city blocks away from me, so I see him almost every week. He is still my biggest inspiration since he still reminds me that he is one of the luckiest dads in the world because he has two successful kids in this day and age. It took months to fully get over the fact that Dad wasn’t living with me anymore.
Adversity can always have a negative effect on the people who go through it, including me. Some people never recover from it, but I am glad I did. By dealing with adversity, I learned that at the end of the day, bad things are bound to happen. It is best to get over misfortunes by ignoring and confronting your problems. Going through that stage of adversity really helped me because I learned how to deal with any future misfortunes and these adversities won’t bring me down. I got over my adversity and knowing that my dad is proud of me helped me get over not seeing his inspirational presence every day.
Nasir Ellis
StreetSquash
Age 16
We as humans have no right to ask when misfortune comes, “Why did this happen to me?” unless we ask the same question for every moment of happiness that comes our way. That is why when I think of the word adversity I see it as an opportunity to experience a hardship but at the same time learn a lesson which will make you a better person. President Barack Obama definitely had to experience many hardships in his journey to become president; however, he did not let that change who he was as a person. It taught him how to deal with the political world and become a better politician. I have been lucky throughout my life to only experience one true hardship.
Since the age of two I have been in the custody of my paternal grandmother and grandfather. My grandparents have raised me to be the most responsible and respectful young man they could. My father has always been in the picture supporting me when he could and making sure I did not lose out on a father. However, up until a year ago his ability to do that was taken away from him. The fact that he is incarcerated bothers me but the worst thing about it is how long he will be away from my life. I always anticipated the day that I would graduate from high school and my dad would be in the aisle waiting for me with the expression that words could not describe. But not that dream is no longer a reality due to actions that took place a long time ago he will away for 6 years and I will not get that chance to see how proud he would be on my graduation date. I have never thought of my dad as a dreadful or horrific person but I guess my opinion doesn’t matter when it comes to the law.
Day after day my grandmother reminds me that I need to keep striving to be the best I can be and make sure I earn a great education. Even though it is a difficult pill for me to swallow I have come to terms with the fact that I have to be strong and continue to do what I have to do. I refuse to make the same mistakes my dad did and I will have my day to make him proud another time. So when you ask about adversity I think to this situation and I know that the adversity I face will not overcome me.