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Carol Ann Duffy Research Paper

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On a sweltering summer day in Puerto Rico in 1996, my father, who was just twenty-four years old, began his ten-year military career. In the course of his first day of training, he ran three miles, spent two hours in a classroom learning about what seemed like nonsense to him, and lifted at least forty third-pound artillery shells. He was completely exhausted by the day's end and went straight to his barracks bed, restless with thousands of thoughts and emotions running through his head. It was the first of ten years worth of successful days that culminated in him reaching the rank of sergeant, and there was not a shred of luck involved in it. There are those like actor and director Orson Welles who believe that success is a matter …show more content…

Take, for example, the renowned movie and TV actor Patrick Duffy, who believes that “good luck happens to people who work hard for it.” One can imagine that, perhaps, Duffy got a role that had gone to another actor when that actor unexpectedly got sick. Duffy apparently feels the necessity of calling that occurrence good luck, but I notice that he says that good luck is the result of his hard work. He knows that hard work is the foundation for success, yet he acknowledges the imaginary belief that comes within hard work. As for myself, I don't believe in imaginary things—I believe in concrete, provable things, like hard …show more content…

It was his last day of training in which the final test was being performed. A sprint was in check in which the soldiers had to finish within an allotted time or be cut off. It was do or die for my father, he knew there wasn't any room for a mistake. With a loud holler from the official, the soldiers, including my father, were off. Faster and faster they went, legs were pumping on, sweaty bodies were full of adrenaline. My father wasn't too far behind, but he knew the dangers of coming in past the time. He took a quick look behind and saw who was in last place so far, one of his good friends, a bit too pudgy but definitely trying his best. My father looked on ahead and saw the rest of his mates, most of them already finished and taking a much needed breather. Although he knew his career was on the line, my father turned around and ran towards his friend, determined to help the last person finish. Neither his superiors nor his teammates knew what was going on as my father slung his friend over his shoulder and carried him to the end. By this time, the superiors caught on to my father’s plan and were beyond enraged. They pulled my father off to the side and demanded to know why my father had gone back to help the last person, to which my father without hesitation told them it was the army way, “leave no brother behind.”

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