What Makes Horace's Dream Come True?

The Roman poet Horace states that “Adversity has the effect of eliciting talents which in prosperous circumstances would have lain dormant.” By this, he explains the role these hardships play in shaping and developing a person’s character. I agree that adversity not only elicits talents, but also brings out the hidden aptitudes within a person that which they were unaware of before. Through learning experiences and observations, I have witnessed the significant outcomes that come from the result of adversities.

Hardships have the power to make a break a person, as Roman poet, Horace, once said, “Adversity has the effect of eliciting talents which in prosperous circumstances would have lain dormant”. Everyone has or will have to face adversity at some point in their lives, it is a universal truth. Although misfortunes usually have a negative connotation, depending on the struggle and how one deals with it, it is likely the person will come out of misfortune better prepared for the world. Contrastly, if a person never experienced any hardships, they would lack a sophisticated understanding of the world and lack the ability to handle difficult situations. Adversity gives people strength they can not obtain with success.

A Roman poet named Horace once said “Adversity has the effect of eliciting talents, which in prosperous circumstances would have lain dormant” Which is a quote that many people can deeply connect with or agree with. Although some people can say this quote is true from experience, many people cannot. I don’t agree wholeheartedly with Horace’s words for a few reasons.

“Adversity has the effect of eliciting talents which in prosperous circumstances would have lain dormant.” What the Roman poet Horace was saying was that when there is an obstacle in our way, our true colors will radiate. I could not agree more. When we as human beings feel passionate about achieving a goal, we may learn something new of ourselves, maybe a new trait that we did not know we possessed, when we reach new heights we did not know we could push ourselves towards. Challenges are similar to tests. Challenges are faced every day, but how we respond to them determines how strong we really are. Prime examples are superheroes and students that move dramatically.

The push to keep training and maintaining the discipline of a Basketball player despite the initial rejection makes Michael Jordan iconic. He knew that the way to the top would not be easy, but he was determined to do all it takes to get there. This shows that no one who truly wants to make a mark should think that life is a bed of roses. There is something to overcome; there are disciplines to maintain if we want to get to great heights. We can overcome obstacles like a genius when we pattern our lives to do the things that geniuses do.

Without overcoming adversity Jim Abbott would never be the first baseball player with only one hand.Malala Yousafzai would have never brought attention to girls education.Many of the runners from the Boston Marathon would have never ran the race again, and even never race again their life. Adversity, is hard to overcome, but ask is it worth it in the

Of course, adversity is ultimately inevitable in life. When a problem arises, individuals are generally astonished at the response to the complexity of the situation. This makes adversity becomes a wall that is unable to be broken down. However, there is a point in an individual where their instincts can reveal the truth, “it’s part of life to have obstacles, it’s about overcoming obstacles, that’s the key to happiness.” Qualities and characteristics of individuals are revealed during the hard times. These talents that are within us, that are usually locked up to give the ability for an individual to unlock the adversity that it created. In this sense, an individual true color and nature can be revealed leading to a new understanding of the capability to overcome adversities.

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny” (King) Martin Luther King speaking these infamous words is only a small portion that reveals the inspirational nature that allowed him to overcome racism. Oppression whether it is for race, gender, sexuality is still a “ series of unfortunate events” that occurs in our world every single day. The ground that America was built on was based on equal rights for all, yet 200 years later injustice not only exists but thrives. However, if nobody overcame oppression what would our world look like without those heroes and leaders?. In Letter from Birmingham Jail, Martin Luther king is depicted as a man who was able to fight for his people and his freedom even after all the horrific encounters with racism he had to witness. In Sherman’s Alexei’s, “What you Pawn I will Redeem”, Jackson Jackson, even after left homeless and alone, fought to get his grandmothers regalia back. Dana Johnson’s Melvin from “Melvin in the 6th grade”, lived through bullying and violence but was still able to remain a hero in Avery’s eyes. What made those people so amazing? Is it there charm, wit, perseverance? Leaders become influential when other people strive to have those same heroic qualities. A true hero is an ordinary person who exemplifies forgiveness, passion and empathy which allow them to overcome an oppressive situation and

During the Civil rights movement many leaders faced many adversities, but one leader named Malcolm X wrote,“Every defeat, every heartbreak, every loss, contains its own seed its own lesson on how to improve your performance next time” hence he tries to say that there is no better way to develop skills than an adversity. At the present time, when people are faced with a challenge they either give up or take the easy way, thus leading to potential going to waste. Although adversity can bring harm, it helps introduce us to ourselves and our unknown skills with the potential to improve them.

Quite often you hear that we do not grow without failure; that failure is what teaches us a new skill and how to then succeed. I was not familiar with the quote, “adversity has the effect of eliciting talents which in prosperous circumstances would have lain dormant,” by Horace, however I think this quote is true. To me, this means that when someone has some kind of disadvantage, that person can use the challenge to his advantage through self-reflection, determination, and hope. Every person faces an obstacle, usually many and of various degrees of challenge, and although you cannot control the situation, you can control your reaction. Those of us that learn from adversity take our time to figure out how to approach the problem in a new manner. We recognize that one barrier is not a reason to abandon our course. We think outside the box for how to overcome the challenge. We learn from the first failure and we regroup for the next approach. Failure teaches you how to define yourself rather than how others define you. All four of the

Horace states, "Adversity has the effect of eliciting talents which in prosperous circumstances would have lain dormant," meaning that differences in a person's life, meaning misfortunes as a whole, has the ability to change a person's personality and character. This can go two separate ways though, it can make them into a better person, or a worse person. But the overall idea that Horace stated is easy to agree with.

Graham made countless references to the statement, “Keep your hand on the plow, hold on.” This can be taken on many aspects, but I interpreted it as no matter how rugged the path gets, hold on and stick it out. The most important thing is to keep an image of the bigger picture you are chasing and persevere through the destruction by taking the road less traveled by to obtain success. Education is the most significant because it is the gateway to success, despite racism, violence and more, as Dr. Graham said. We should not be afraid to venture out for success and not doubt yourself if you have delayed gratification because success will come in due

When we face challenges in life that are far beyond our own power, it 's an opportunity to build on our

Horace states, “Adversity has the effect of eliciting talents which in prosperous circumstances would have lain dormant.” He depicts that hardship plays in developing one’s character. In defense, people in daily life and works of fiction have overcome adversity and grew as a whole.

The challenges a person faces in their everyday life prepares them for hardships in the future. A person who beats these challenges and overcomes adversity is prepared to succeed in any circumstances. One of the greatest examples of a person overcoming adversity and succeeding is Michael Oher. Michael Oher is a NFL football player who overcame a lot to get to where he stands today. On May 28, 1986, Michael Oher was born into a life of poverty with 12 brothers and sisters, a drug addict mom, and an incarcerated father. Correspondingly Biography.com, a popular online database for biographies, states, Michael was in and out of multiple foster homes; leaving him homeless for more than a quarter of his adolescent life.(Biography.com 1) The lack