Undergraduate / UChicago "In chinese, crisis is composed of two characters, danger/opportunity" [9]

Prompt: On April 12th, 1959, President John F. Kennedy delivered a speech that included the quote "When written in Chinese the word "crisis" is composed of two characters - one represents danger and the other represents opportunity." Crises are forms of adversity that people are faced with everyday. Explain the relationship between adversity and the results that emanate from it.

It is known that a path devoid of obstacles or grievances will most likely lead to nowhere-and thus, does not require any form of exceptional proficiency. Conversely, an individual who has been subjected to a variety of misfortunes will have developed ingenuity and gained valuable experience that many others lack. Adversity, in a sense, introduces you to yourself and allows you to see yourself as you truly are, instead of how you seem. There exists a universal misconception that failure is a negative aspect of life, while in reality, failure and distress provide the basis for opportunity. I am an individual who has significantly benefitted from the harsh lessons given by adversity.

As an infant, I was abandoned by both of my parents. Now, I'm grateful for anyone who accepts me for who I am. As a young child, I was trusted into an economically disadvantage and abusive family. Now, I value even the most minuscule amounts of money and affection that people bestow upon me. As a teenager, I experienced homelessness and poverty. Now, I cherish the small ram shackle mustard yellow shelter I once called home. Adversity tore at me like a fierce storm and altered me from the puny impotent individual I once was into the resilient and resolute individual that I am today.

I was never the type of person that would dwell on misfortune or be held captive by my past. Instead, I embraced all of my hardships and converted them into energy for my mission and as a result became the engineer of my future. I have amassed all of the vigor from quandaries that I have overcome. I have also realized that life bombards us with hindrance, not to halt our development, but to allow us to access our infinite potential. Over the course of my life, my mind has been cultivated to convert adversity into awakening. I disregard the immediate effects of dire circumstances, and concentrate more profoundly on the ensuing impact because it is always greater.

Every suffering encompasses with it, the nucleus of an identical or possibly superior advantage. The positive elements that arise seem to make the agony worth going through. Adversity is a ruthless paradox that allows us to learn from our mistakes and it also instills new intellectual prowess that will aid us in future troubles. Thomas Edison never quit when he failed to produce a properly functioning light bulb; but rather, he discovered more than 10,000 ways that did not work. I too, never surrendered to the temptation of quitting.

As life at home continued to diminish, I increased my determination so I didn't fall victim to the same plight that most other poverty stricken and abused children did, which was failure. I did not want to be entrapped in the same run down town that engulfed the smallest opportunity for success. My grades and involvement in school activities began to decrease because I was forced to perform laborious work after school in order to maintain our sub-par socioeconomic status. Although I had more responsibilities than any other adolescent, I never asked for a lesser burden. I made sure that I would always bear a little more than I could actually bear.

Accomplishments are measured solely by the size of the obstacles that one overcame in order to achieve that goal. The purpose of living is to learn from your miseries rather than trying to eradicate them. Happiness may be good for your well-being, but it is pain and sorrow that develop the efficacy of the mind. I believe wholeheartedly that I am now equipped to handle any challenge that presents itself. Growing up under these onerous circumstances has allowed me to become adept with adversity and thus, has produced a persistent and confident individual. The constant adversity has laid the necessary background for nothing but success-and for that, I am more than thankful.

Undergraduate / Uchicago "Describe a road that you know (real, imagined or metaphorical)" Essay [8]

Topic: Describe a road that you know: real, imagined, metaphorical. tell us about your character, interests, and ideas.

Character is formed through adversity

On November 13th, 1991, my journey began. I was left stranded with no sense of direction. There was no one I could turn to for guidance. I could not foresee that the long, narrow road that lay before me would be paved with failure and lined with disappointment. The opportunity for success was so minuscule; and it became increasingly obvious along the way. The victims of this plight were scattered helplessly on the periphery for all future hopefuls to witness. However, my situation was plenty worse than most of those who came before me.

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