Jim Carrey by Emely R.

Did you ever think about how some of the funniest or happiest people have ever faced adversity? Facing adversity is something we as people go through and maybe some don’t share it with the world. It teaches us lessons and makes us stronger for any future activities that could happen. For example, let's look at Jim Carrey. Jim Carrey has faced a lot of problems before becoming a famous actor. There is no better person that has gone through this but him; he has faced not having enough money, having depression, and ADHD.

To begin with, Jim wasn’t very wealthy from the start according to the information on eslfast.com. Jim was in a lower middle class household. Since he was 15 he started facing adversity. Carrey had to drop out of high school to help his family and get a job as a janitor to help support his family. You can imagine that a boy at this age wouldn’t be so happy with having to quit his high school years to help out his family. But this didn’t stop Jim from doing what he enjoys. He knew he had a talent for comedy and took that opportunity and used it for his success. As you can see, Jim didn’t let his financial problems stop him for succeeding and still enjoying life.

Also, according to mentalhealthdaily.com, Jim wasn’t open about his battle with depression until later on in his life. The cause of this could have been mainly his childhood. Since Jim had to quit high school, he didn’t have interactions with people his age meaning he had a bigger and more mature mind then normal kids his age. This also made him have very bad anger against what he was going through. Meanwhile, he had depression and he dealt with anger, despair, and mood swings. In Jim’s life at that time he was so stressed and mad about his life situation and this caused him to have lots of anger. His depression was more severe because of his teen years since he couldn’t live a normal 15 year old lifestyle without having to worry about financial problems. Being a comedian helped Carrey cope with his depression.

Additionally, while dealing with depression, Jim was also diagnosed with ADHD according to edgefoundation.org. When he was child, he couldn’t finish his assignments on time quickly and sometimes disrupted his other classmates. Since a young age he has undergone treatment. When he got older, he used his celebrity advantage and spoke seriously about this topic. Having ADHD did go to his advantage in some parts like his creativity and being energized in his job. He also found a painting that inspired him about his adversity on this. Jim had to deal with depression and with ADHD; at the same time this shows how an actor known for being funny has gone through some harsh things just like us.

Finally, Jim Carrey faced a lot of adversity in his life that maybe most people didn’t know he had gone through. Although, sometimes he felt like there will be no good things coming he made it past all his struggles like having depression, ADHD, and being unhoused. He had struggled since a young age with things he couldn’t control. He is a remarkable man that overcame so many harsh obstacles. Although he might never expect it, he is now he  is a very known man that has made many people smile and laugh throughout the world.

Katherine Johnson by Yestin R.

 

Did you Know that Katherine Johnson faced many adversities in her life? Most people face adversities in their life. Adversities are huge challenges people face. For example, there’s discrimination or a major problem, in somebody’s life. Katherine Johnson is one of those people, since she faced discrimination when she was young and as an adult.

First of all, in Katherine Johnson’s early life, she enjoyed math a lot. In paragraph 1 in NASA.gov, it says, “Katherine Johnson had an intense curiosity and brilliance with numbers.” Katherine Johnson enjoyed math at a very young age that she was even attending high school focused on it. In addition, in the same source it says, “By the age of 13 she was attending high school.” It also says at 16 She enrolled in college. She was a very smart for someone her age and had to deal with discrimination as she was an African American female. When Katherine Johnson graduated with highest honors in 1937, she took a black public school in Virginia. It goes to show that she wanted to teach other people In her early life she was really smart for her age and what she also had to deal with.

Second of all, in Katherine Johnson’s time in NASA she was considered a human computer, but she also had to deal with discrimination. “In Who is Katherine Johnson,” paragraph 10, it says, “Katherine Johnson, was not allowed to attend meetings because she was a Woman.” Not only did she had to deal with discrimination but she had to deal with sexism. In addition, Katherine Johnson wasn’t relied on most of the time because she was black and a woman. I feel bad for Katherine Johnson because she wasn’t treated properly like the men working in NASA. In the same source it says, “shortly thereafter, Johnson became part of the space team. She began calculating the flight path at trajectory path for the rocket to put the first American in space in 1961,” as well she also helped on the first moon landing. Katherine later was a huge help on the moon landing and she was very well known for that in her time in NASA.

Lastly, In Katherine Johnson's time after NASA she also did amazing things. In ”Who is Katherine Johnson,” paragraph 14, it says, “In 2016, she received honorary doctorates in science from West Virginia University and West Virginia State University.” I'm glad she finally got what she deserved and was recognized for it. In the same source last paragraph, it says, “she also liked to talk to students. She often told students to study and to work hard. She encouraged students to learn more about mathematics and science - and to never give up on their dreams.” In the end Katherine Johnson was truly and inspirational person.

To end this, Katherine Johnson was an inspirational woman. In her early life she was very smart for her age and time, and later on helped with the moon landing. In her time in NASA, she wasn’t relied on most of the time but later on she helped on big projects. In her time after NASA, she told students to follow their dreams just like her. Katherine had a big impact on the first moon landing and inspired many people. Later on she died in 2020 at the age of 101.

Kim Taehyung by Rachel F.

Let’s be honest. Who doesn’t like doing their favorite hobby like singing and so much more? What’s your favorite hobby? Some people can’t always afford their dreams. Kim Taehyung was also struggling, but lucky for him he could complete his dream. He loves his career so much and he wouldn’t change it for nothing! He also loves taking pictures of everything.

First off, he’s a very brave person and has gone through a lot in his life especially with his grandma who died and who took care of him for most of his life! According to the source “TheFamousPeople.com,” he was born December 30, 1995 and is currently 25. He was also born in Daegu, South Korea and he is famous as a pop singer. He also known as his nickname V, and he is a Capricorn. He has Two siblings, Kim Eon Jin and Kim Jeong Gyu they were both born also in Daegu South Korea.  According to that same source “TheFamousPeople.com” “Kim Taehyung, popularly known as ‘V,’ is a singer, songwriter, and dancer from South Korea. Today, he is particularly famous for being one of the main members of the popular K-pop group Bangtan Boys (simply known as BTS).” He’s achieved a very high position as of right now and his fans admire him very much. According to that also same source TheFamousPeople.com, “Kim’s journey began when he and his current band mate Jimin made a remix of ‘Old School Love ft. Ed Sheeran’ and uploaded it on Soundcloud, to celebrate their graduation. He went on to join Bangtan Boys in 2011 but wasn’t revealed to be an official member of the band until 2013.” This was an obstacle, since he wasn’t being recognized right away for his talents and not given immediate respect for his gifts.

Next off, Kim has gotten so many fans by now that he’s a world sensation, but the path was not easy. According to the source TheFamousPeople.com, “Kim Taehyung is one of those people who come out of nowhere, only to take the internet by storm, almost overnight. Not only is he an incredible vocalist, songwriter, and keyboardist, he is also a budding actor. Being his multi-talented self, he shows the prospect of a bright future. Besides being so skilled, he is also the face of his band, and is easily considered one of the most popular K-pop artists of all time”. He honestly is a very special person to be honest. One last thing From the same source TheFamousPeople.com is “His parents are traditionally farmers, and he is from a not-so-privileged background.” His mother is a housewife. This shows that his early life had hardships. He did not have an easy path to fame.

Continuing, Kim’s dream has always, and I repeat has always been his career in singing and according to this source TheWikiFeed.com “He joined Changnam Elementary School for his early schooling and later completed higher schooling from Korean Arts School, Hongik-dong, Seoul in 2014. After that, he enrolled himself at the Global Cyber University, Cheonan, South Korea from where he completed his graduation with a major in Broadcasting and Entertainment. As of 2021, he is pursuing a Master of Business Administration in Advertising and Media from Hanyang Cyber University, South Korea.Kim Taehyung always wanted to be a popular singer and songwriter in his career. Since childhood, he has a deep interest in music and aspired to be a professional singer during elementary school.” With all his effort and his dreams, he well deserved this place and I’m sure all his fans and by you should be thinking the same thing, such a wonderful person and let’s not forget his charms. Coming from a humble beginning, he fought tooth and nail to get to where he is today. He focuses not just on entertainment, but also his education.

Finally, At the end of the day, most people complete their dreams when it’s the correct time. Kim Taehyung deserved where he is right now, and I think that’s amazing. He’s worked hard for that place. He came from humble beginnings. Now he’s a success in every area of his life. 

Walt Disney by Randy T.

 

Think about someone you admire, and you realize that they have success because of their young days the person had/has of not being treated good. Having to go through adversity is a pretty normal thing to go through. What that person does or do with things like adversity is important, and they use it to keep encouraging themselves. A perfect example Is Walt Disney, who overcame adversity through his life, at his house, and places like the cinema and his studio during a time of segregation.

To start with, Walt Disney had a really difficult early life. Biography.com gives us information about Walt Disney loving trains and railroads when he was a kid. Walt Disney loved it when I believed he was at his grandfather’s workplace, which is a railroad and driving trains. Walt Disney also had an abusive father, and he was the 4th child out of five. Walt Disney grew up with a really bad father, and I mean a really bad father, and he was the 4th child out of five in the family, so he didn’t always get a lot of attention. Walt Disney had also found solace in drawing. Walt Disney also loved drawing and creating things even when he grew up. All of this information about his childhood tells me that he can achieve what he wants to achieve. 

Despite Walt Disney’s early life, what the problems and things related to it about Walt Disney’s job might shock you. Walt Disney’s cartoon business went bankrupt. After the success Walt Disney had, he had to face bankruptcy, which is pretty sad. That means he lost money. Walt Disney had a nervous breakdown after creating Mickey Mouse. Walt Disney was nervous to go bankrupt again and couldn’t afford to have that happen again. Walt Disney’s animators went on strike during World War ll. Walt Disney’s animators were tired of their low payment. All of these things that happened are crazy.

Some things that can shock you is the type of segregation Walt Disney faced. Walt Disney premiered some of his cartoons at “Whites only” venues while contracted to ABC-Paramount. This means that Walt Disney premiered some his cartoons at “Whites Only” theaters, while he was still contracted to ABC-Paramount. Disney’s theme park was financed by a business that actively segregated against African Americans. So basically, the thing that financed Walt Disney’s theme park pretty much hates or has conflict with African Americans. Walt Disney agreed to produce the 1964 television series Disneyland for ABC in exchange for ABC-Paramount financing the building of the theme park Disneyland. This meant that Walt Disney made a deal with ABC-Paramount to help financing the Disneyland building, if Walt Disney makes the Disneyland series. With this said you guys have been informed about the type of segregation Walt Disney went through his life so far.

In a close, you guys have been informed a lot about Walt Disney. You guys learned about Walt Disney’s business issues, and what he went through. You guys have also learned about the segregation he went through in his life. This is the adversity in the life of Walt Disney.

Eminem by Leyla D.

 

                Do you know anyone who has faced adversity? Facing adversity is a quite common thing. A lot of people have many situations throughout their life. One person I know who faced adversity is Eminem, also known as Marshall Bruce Mathers III. Marshall is mostly known for his music with over 220 million records, but he wasn’t always at the top. Marshall struggled with his social life, battle with addiction, and lastly a hard time with family members.

               To start, Eminem's social life was rough. According to https://outlierseminem.weebly.com/ the author says that he was told rough treatment was a common occurrence. "Beat up in the bathroom, beat up in the hallways, shoved into lockers.” Eminem was clearly treated very poorly by his peers during his school times which is a tough situation to go through as a teenager. “Mathers would recall moving schools often and said ‘I would change schools two, three times a year, that was probably the roughest part about it all.’” Moving schools a bunch of times really can take a toll on one's social life. In the source https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/eminem-3985.php, the author states that Eminem was bullied often. Marshall definitely has faced a lot of obstacles with his social life.

                Not only did Eminem have a rough social life, he also has went down a long road with a battle of addiction. In the source https://iamsober.com/blog/eminem-road-to-recovery/, it states that “Eminem became addicted not to illicit street drugs like crack or heroin, but instead drugs many thought were harmless because they were legal: prescription opioids. It happened because the rapper was working long hours with little time to rest. A well-meaning person gave him a pill that permitted him to get to sleep quickly and so make more efficient use of his time while on tour.” Marshall got addicted to prescribed drugs which has had a big toll on his life. But the time came when he was taking as many as or more than 20 pills a day, and he was mixing them into new combinations. Eminem’s problem grew with all the prescriptions he got prescribed. “Eminem got serious, worked with a rehab counselor and went through a difficult and painful detoxification. He says he was awake for three weeks straight, 24 hours a day, and had to relearn how to perform fundamental tasks such as talking and walking, but also that he ‘could be naturally happy without being on something’ and that ‘It does get better.’” Marshall got his life together. He was inspired by his kids  and wanted to live life for them.

        Lastly, Eminem has had a hard time with family members. According to the source https://starschanges.com/eminem-family/, “Eminem’s real name is Marshall Bruce Mathers III, but the last name was the only thing he got from his father. Marshall Bruce Jr. left the family, when his son was less than one year old.” Growing up without a father figure can really affect one’s childhood in the worst way. “Debbie had to work from morning till night to survive. She had no time to care about her small son and very often Eminem spent time in his grandparents’ house.” Marshall grew up not really seeing his mom, which is very sad because all kids need their mother. His parents remarried and had other children. They started not to pay attention to their oldest son as much. “To cope with poverty, pain, and anxiety Eminem started to practice rap.” Eminem dealt with his issues through music, which really helped his rap career. Definitely, Marshall has overcome so many obstacles.

             To wrap it up, Eminem has faced a lot of adversity during his life from his social life, battle with addiction, and hard time with family. What do you think about the situations Eminem has overcome? He is someone who overcame obstacles. He is a well-known and successful person after facing adversity.

Oprah Winfrey by Maria V.

              Many people have faced adversity, like your ancestors and you may not even know it. Adversity is a normal thing that happens in everyone’s lives, and some people take it as an advantage to become better or even successful for the future. Let’s take an example, such as Oprah Winfrey. Oprah today is an influencer, who doesn’t have a perfect life like some people thought. She’s one of the people who faced adversity.

             Growing up as a child, it was complicated for Winfrey because of her poor household she lived in. She grew up with her mother who soon put her to live with her grandmother. Her grandmother was financially unstable to the point Oprah had to wear potato sacks as clothes, which led to other kids making fun of her. Her grandma was reported as abusive, and at age 14 she was pregnant because of SA. Fortunately, her grandmother was able to teach her how to read and would take her to church. Despite the obstacles Winfrey had went through, she never gave up and decided to change her life. A website called liveabout.com, talks about Winfrey’s tragic childhood.

              Next, Oprah Winfrey started a new beginning, and decided to run away and get a new job at a local supermarket, since no one believed her after talking about her experience with her abusers. She started going to school while working, and became an honors student and was also known as the popular girl at her school. At age 17, she won a beauty pageant and attracted a radio station. She knew that it was time to take this advantage to become better than those who denied her success. On achievement.com, it states about her first win at the pageant.

              Lastly, after she got hired, she worked hours even if she was just in high school. She worked hard and kept learning in order to become her dream self, as a TV actress. She would start working on stage and talk about how she overcame her childhood to others, and she realized how she was not alone. Oprah Winfrey was known as the first youngest African American woman in the local media. According to a website called “Oprah Foundation”, she made her own charity called The Oprah Winfrey foundation, which she donated MILLIONS of dollars to help out those in need for food. Not only did she became successful, but she also gave an education to many people.

             To conclude, she was a strong woman who faced adversity. Today, even though she faced so many difficulties throughout her early life, she is now known as the richest African American woman of the 20th century and an influencer. Maybe you can be like her in the future, and if you ever face adversity you have to remember that it’s a normal thing in life to experience.

Katherine Johnson by Randy S.

 

Did Katherine Johnson overcome adversity? Yes, she did, since it was 1918- 1950, and woman were not doing the job that Katherine Johnson was doing, especially black woman. Katherine was one of those black women that worked at NASA/NACA.

First of all, in Katherine Johnson’s early life, she loved math so much. It even says this “What Did She Study in College,” paragraph 2, it states “She counted everything from the number of steps she took to get to the food to the numbers of forks and plates she washed when doing the dishes.” She loved math so much that even from a young age, she was always eager to go to school. She did amazing in school that she was in high school at the age of 10 and went to college at the age of 15 years old. That is a huge accomplishment. Being a young minority, during a time of racism, she was able to achieve a lot.

Second, while Katherine Johnson was working at NASA, she would get treated differently than others at her workspace. For example, on paragraph 10, it says “women were not allowed to attend meetings with the male engineers and scientists.” Johnson wanted to go to the meetings to learn more about the projects, so she went anyway. So, they wouldn’t allow women to those meetings the male engineers and scientist went to. In the trailer for Hidden Figures, we can see that she was mistaken for a cleaning lady. By attending meetings, she eventually she gained respect from the men and all those men viewed her as a leader and relied on her for many things. This was great for her, being a African American woman in the 1950s having all those men viewing her as a leader and the way she was getting treated at her workspace at NASA /NACA got tremendously better.

Finally, the way Katherine got accepted to NASA is marvelous. It says in paragraph 1, “when Johnson was 34 years old, she applied for a job…. In the early to mid-1950s, NACA was just beginning its work on studying space. NACA was hiring women, including African American women…. The first time Johnson applied, all of the jobs were already filled, but then she had called again another time, and they answered her phone call and gave her a job to be a human computer. A human computer made calculations without special devices or technology. This was amazing for the time she was living in. She did this as an African American woman.

Finishing off everything, these are the things Katherine Johnson did in her early life, the ways she got treated when working at her workspace, and the ways she got accepted to work as human computer at be NASA.  So yes these are all the things that happened in her life. She faced adversity and became successful. To this day, many people look up to her.

Richard Branson by Jasmin P.

 

Think of the person you look up to, and it can be guaranteed that they have faced adversity in their life. Adversity can be many types of problems like disorders or hardships like a car crash or everyday work. This can affect people’s choices in a good or bad way. Those who keep trying use their adversity to overcome obstacles in their daily life. In fact, Richard Branson is one such person who faced adversity at a youthful age and then became a billionaire.

At an early age Richard Branson faced some adversity. According to biography.com in the section “Young Entrepreneur,” Richard Branson was born on July 18, 1950, in England to a barrister and a flight attendant. This middle-class family had a good chance of sprouting success. Yet, Branson struggled with dyslexia and had a tough time with education. With dyslexia making it hard to learn, he still managed to become a billionaire. Almost failing an all-boys school, he transferred to another school and dropped out at age 16. He started a youth-culture magazine that sold for $8,000 worth of advertising, which shows he could still become successful with dyslexia. Even though he has dyslexia and struggled with learning, he managed to do business dealings.

Next, Branson took a toll from an unfortunate occurrence. According to Biography.yourdictionary.com, a British postal strike forced Branson to turn his mail-order supplier to a discount record retailer. His business debt shot up to $20,000, so he devised a scam to evade tax payments of his merchandise but was caught and went to jail. The debt stressed him, so he evaded collectors to not collect more debt. It cost $45,000 to secure his freedom and $90,000 of business debts, fines and taxes owed which he did pay back. Because of his reckless actions, he was put him in jail and more debt piled on, but with time he paid everything back. Despite his reckless action putting him in adversity’s way, he succeeded in overcoming it.

Branson kept expanding his business interests. According to biography.yourdictionary.com in section “Virgin Records” and “Virgin Travel Interests,” He established Virgin Records to help a friend and then signed the Sex Pistols who had a hit and attracted multiple popular artists. With his business attracting multiple popular artists and signing contracts with companies to boost sales, was moving up in life. Branson established an international airline, but sold his Virgin Music Group for 1 billion to save Virgin Airlines. The courage that Branson had to sacrifice his Music Group for his airline in financial disaster was astounding. Over 200 Virgin Megastores worldwide and thousands of employees from different companies, including an income of 5 billion each year from the entire Virgin Group, were at stake. With his troubles he was still determined to succeed. His courage to sacrifice the Music Group brought him to billionaire status.

To sum it up ,Richard Branson has had a rough and successful business. His dyslexia made it hard to learn and he still made a successful magazine when he was young. He changed his business during the postal strike, went to jail and paid a huge debt. He then sold his music group for his airline and soon became a billionaire. Richard Branson is an amazing entrepreneur and thrill-seeker who overcame many obstacles in his business life.

Tom Cruise by Anthony D.

 

Look at the people you admire and think how they got where they are now. Was it easy? Did it take long? Well for Tom Cruise it was neither easy nor fast. Facing adversity is normal for all of us. How we overcome it is what makes us special. You could say Tom Cruise is special, but I say he is more. He overcame adversity himself when he was younger. Let’s look deeper about Tom Cruise and his younger years.

To begin with, Tom Cruise had a challenging childhood. According to CelebrityBiography.com, ‘’He suffered from dyslexia when he was in the 2nd grade.” Basically, he grew up with a disability that made it harder for Tom to learn. He also wasn’t the strong type of kid. He was on the weaker side, making him an easy target for bullies. Even in all of these conditions, with school he overcame this. “The problems I faced  in my childhood are what made me today,” Tom Cruise said. This shows that even with facing adversity and disabilities you can still live up to your dreams that you have or had.

Tom Cruise also faced problems with his parents. According to Jokermag.com, “Tom Cruise’s Dad would beat him.” Tom Cruise’s Dad had a drinking problem. His mom didn’t like this and would always confront his dad. These confrontations would always end in violence with Tom’s mother and father. Tom’s mother would try to comfort him, but he would always be scared. Tom Cruise would go home late purposely just to avoid his father. Tom has tried to stop his father before, but it would never work. This just shows that in order to succeed in life you need to face problems, even at home. Tom Cruise faced this and proves that he not only overcame obstacles with his body but also with his mental state.

Lastly Tom Cruise has become successful from what he has faced in his younger years. Tom was brave and had little to no comprehension to dire situations. Tom has proven the people who made fun of him wrong by becoming famous and being recognized from hit movies. According to Jokermag.com, Tom said “I am happy to be where I am today and I forgive my father for what he did in the past. I now understand what he was going through and his addiction.” Tom Cruise was and still is a big inspiration to kids or adults who are going through the same thing. Many people haven’t heard his story, which is crazy. I feel that his story should be put out there to the world to raise awareness that it may not be obvious, but kids or people in general are suffering. And from this suffering, people can learn, move on, and do wonderful things in their lives.

In conclusion of my information and story about Tom Cruise’s younger life and how he overcame adversity, we have the profile of someone who faced adversity. He has overcome many other things. I presented the most pressing issues that had to be known and put out there. I hope that this showed you that people who have ‘perfect lives have gone through a lot of rough times.

Walt Disney by Maria C.

 

Look at peoples hard work. It may look simple, but it takes time. All the struggles count for success. Example, there’s Walt Disney, and he went through adversity. And so did other famous people. But let’s talk about Walt Disney.

To begin with, Walt had a bad early life. According to Walt, he didn’t have the best relationship with his father. He was mistreated by his father. His father was Disney Elias. His mother passed away in 1938. According to Waltdisney.org, Walt’s mother passed away at the age of 70 of a blood disorder. He liked to draw and sketch, and he would sell his art to the neighbors and family friends. He was a poor child so that was a way he gained a little bit of money. One can see he had a rough beginning.

Next, according biography.com, there as more about a rocky road to success. Walt was successful for his creation of Disney Land. Even though he was afraid of mice, he created Mickey Mouse. Walt had many failures during this time. He became bankrupt by one of his helpers. He also went through a very bad mental breakdown, a devastating strike in adulthood. And there was the loss of control over his creation, Oswald the lucky rabbit. He went through lots of thing during the making of his business that were a huge hit. He still was successful and famous all around the world.

Now to the success. Disney was an innovative animator when he created Disney Land and Mickey Mouse. He won 22 Academy Awards. Her was very successful for Mickey Mouse and the theme park Disney Land. He gave pleasure, delight, and entertainment to so many people around the world. He’s very famous and is still known to this day. He will keep on being remembered. And his creations were one of the best it brings, so many kids enjoyed them, and he knew it.

All In all, Disney suffered lots of adversity as a child and teen. He still overcame it. He was still successful and famous. There was even a golden statue made of him. He also has a theme park named after him. So, after all the adversity and failure, it was not for nothing.

Charlize Theron by Estefania C.

    Have you gone through adversity? Did you succeed? I have read about a lot of people who faced adversity. But the one that stuck with me the most was Charlize Theron’s story.

    First off, Charlize Theron’s mother had killed her drunk father as self defense. This is according to britannica.com, and this was a traumatic event. This wasn’t her facing adversity, but she attended ballet when she was 13 years old, showing that life went on after family tragedy. When she was 16 years old she became a model in Milan, and she had to move there by herself, which is a big deal and takes mental strength. After that she tried to act but failed again, you can probably tell by now that she has failed a lot. Next let’s see her succeeding…

    Like I said before, she went through some trouble throughout her life. But she came through when she moved to Hollywood and while she was in the bank, she started making a scene which made her get discovered by an acting agent. Little by little she started getting roles as an actress. Most of them were small, but she was still getting recognized. One of her most known movies is Young Adult, that was made in 2011.  In case you didn’t know, she was African. She was the first African to win an acting Oscar. All of this info was also found in britannica.com. Moving on…

    Meanwhile, she was beginning to get successful, she adopted her son in 2010. She was also involved in many charities, and she even made her own charity. For example, CTAOP or Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project, is her charity. After the problems she’s been through, she wants to give to others. In case you wanted to see for yourself, I found this in the famous people.com website. She has a daughter and son, isn’t married at the moment, and has many awards for her movies. After facing adversity, you can see that she was able to keep going.

    The main idea here is that Charlize Theron faced adversity like other people and kept going forward. She really struggled when she was young, like with her father being shot by her mother as self defense. She started succeeding with her acting career little by little. And of course, she has her family and charities. She is someone people can admire.

Katherine Johnson by Camila S.

Notice the people you look up to and you will see that they have grit because of their early years full of conflicts. Katherine Johnson was very smart. She was incredibly good at math. She loved to count things. She helped land the first man on the moon with her math work. Katherine Johnson overcame adversity, she helped in mathematics, and she was also called a human computer because of how good she was in math.

To begin with, according to NASA’s website, she had a remarkably long life. Katherine was also an African American woman. In her time, she also had people judge her because of her skin color. On NASA’s website it says that when she graduated with the highest honors in 1937, she took a job teaching at a black public school in Virginia. Even with her remarkable and long life she did a lot and helped a lot to get where she wanted, and she pushed herself to success. She started working really young despite being discriminated against for being a woman of color. 

Additionally, back then women were not respected. Katherine was also judged by her gender. People did not believe that she could do hard things, so she proved them wrong. For example, In the Katherine Johnson CommonLit passage I found that back then women were not respected. NASA did not want any women working for them until they saw how smart Katherine was. After that she helped with the math work at NASA.  Even when she had a tough time, she always found her way to keep trying harder and harder. People confused her for the cleaning lady at one point. They just couldn’t believe a woman worked among them. 

Lastly, Katherine did not have that much recognition until later. Where she worked people thought she was not good at anything. That was until they say that she was good at math. She loved to count. Because of how good she was with math people called her a human computer. After they saw she was good she started working at NASA for a long time. Katherine Johnson was an African-American mathematician who worked for NASA from 1953 until 1986. I also found this from the Katherine Johnson passage. Even though people did not believe in her at the beginning, she kept on trying and working hard so she could prove things to those people who did not believe in her worth.

To end these thoughts, you have seen that most of the people you admire have grit, and Katherine Johnson was one of these people. When she was younger her life was very hard. Back then women were not respected and there was racial discrimination. She did not have recognition when she started work until much later in life. Even with all that had happened to her, she still kept going.

Katherine Johnson by Benjamin H.

You maybe have a hero, or someone who you highly value, and then you ascertain the price that person had to pay to be who they are known to be. Facing adversity is one of the many things we have overcome in this life. It can teach us life lessons and build up patience. It can also push us to challenge when it seems impossible. Facing adversity forms our character and it helps us be the best version of us. An example is Katherine Johnson, who faced sexism and racism, but that didn’t stop her to achieve her lifelong dream.

Moving on, Katherine Johnson had a strenuous and segregated life. Based on this information, from Nasa.gov, “she was born in August 26, 1918 in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia.” Back then the U.S. was separated by race, and this was called segregation. Secondly, according to the article, “Who is Katherine Johnson,” “As a very young girl she loved to count everything, she counted everything. from the number of steps she took to get to the road, to the number of forks and plates she washed when doing the dishes.” This shows us that she had a love for mathematics, and that she was eager to go to school and learn. But unfortunately, according to space.com, “Johnson's hometown did not offer public schooling for black children past eighth grade, so her family moved 120 miles (193 kilometers) away so that she could attend high school”. In other words, the impediment of racism may have her detained from going to school, but her family wanted her to have a good education, so they moved and at the age of 10 Katherine was in high school because she was very intelligent and excelled. Another thing is that in Nasa.gov, “she was one of the three black students to be handpicked to integrate West Virginia.” In final, even though she had faced racism because of her color, her love for mathematics lifted her up and she never gave up even though the obstacles were hard.

Going forward, after she graduated high school, she started college at West Virginia University's graduate math program, she was the first black woman to be there. In fact, in “Who Was Katherine Johnson,” we can read that “One of her math professors, the renowned Dr. William W. Schieffelin Claytor, recognized Johnson’s bright and inquisitive mind. “You’d make great research mathematician,” he told her. (A research mathematician does many things, one of which is solving large math problems.) Then Claytor helped her become one”. We can see that Katherine’s professor saw and acknowledged her talent and helped her with her life journey to become who she is now. But she graduated from college when segregation still existed, (remember earlier I said that when she was born the U.S. was segregated) and she would have to face racism to achieve her dream because she was an African American.  For example, according to the article, “Who is Katherine Johnson,” we can see that, “When Johnson graduated from college, the United States was still segregated. During this time, “segregation" meant that different races were separated from each other in many places and activities. African Americans were rarely able to have jobs in mathematics and science. It was also very unusual for women of any race to have degrees in mathematics.” This tells us that back then it was very hard for African Americans to do anything, especially if they were women, not just black women, all women. Overall, Katherine Johnson found herself facing racism and discrimination, but that was part of her process to make her one of the most important women in history. 

Meanwhile, when Katherine was out of college she applied for NASA, which was currently named NACA for certain reasons. For example, according to the article, who is Katherine Johnson, NACA was hiring women — including African Americans — to be "computers.” These female computers calculated the mathematics for the engineers who were working on the space program. The first time Johnson applied, all the jobs were already filled. She was disappointed, but she didn't give up. Johnson applied the following year, and that time the agency offered her a job. She took it and worked with a large group of women who were all computers like her. Based on this information, Katherine put aside her disappointed feelings and never surrendered to her circumstances and in the end, she got the job. However, she went through sexism like we talked about earlier. According to the article, “Who is Katherine Johnson,” women weren't allowed to attend meetings and Katherine wanted to attend but the colleagues didn’t let her simply because she was a woman, but eventually they let her. At first what her colleagues did was unfair but the fact that they let her join the meeting eventually was a good deed. But there is more than that, according to Britanica.com, During this time, NACA was segregated, and West Computers had to use separate bathrooms and dining facilities. That changed in 1958 when NACA was incorporated into the newly formed National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), which banned segregation. Overall, Johnson faced racism and sexism together in NASA, but she overcame it, and what didn’t make her give up, made her stronger and helped her accomplish her goal in NASA.                    

To end these thoughts, Katherine faced adversity in order to achieve her dream. Even though there were obstacles like racism, discrimination, and sexism, she overcame them and won the good race with a good career. She had a career in NASA and became a participant of great miracles. That is the biography of Katherine Johnson.

Cristiano Ronaldo by Zahid E.

Think of the people that you admire, and you will notice that they have surpassed many adversities through their life and because of this they have accomplished their dream. Problems are something that everyone faces in life. The difference is how you react to them, whether you solve them and learn from them or start thinking that your life is not fair. Life is not fair for everyone, but the difference is that some people see the good part of it. People that have a good mindset and react well to daily life problems in their life succeed in life. One person that is part of that small portion of people that have a good mindset over problems is Cristiano Ronaldo; he overcome a lot of adversity. He did this during a young age in his soccer career and in Portugal during hard times.

Before Cristiano Ronaldo was born, according to   ronaldoadversity.weebly.com, his family had a major financial crisis. Because his family was in such bad situation, with already three children, they were worried that they were not going to be able to support all of them. This was to such a point that Ronaldo’s mother wanted to abort him, but because the doctor did not support her decision she couldn't abort. He grew up in a harsh situation with his poor parents. Normally you wouldn't think that someone can succeed in those situations.

 Also, according to ronaldoadversity.weebly.com, his football career was almost ended before it started when he needed a heart surgery at age 15. This was hard for him because he thought that he was not going to be able to play soccer anymore. This was devastating since it was his passion. That means his soccer career was ended, and this is something that not everyone can pass it easily. Ronaldo managed to do it, though. He managed to overcome his heart problem to continue his football career with practice and dedication.

 Further showing that he had a rough childhood, according to another page on https://ronaldoadversity.weebly.com, the biggest adversity that Ronaldo faced was that his father died in 2005 with a chronic liver condition when Ronaldo was just 20 years old. Despite this, he didn’t give up hope on his dream and kept going. Some people are slowed down by grief, but not Ronaldo. His father was very important for him. Losing his father at such an early age was really painful for him. Despite this harsh beginning, he pushed himself into the arena of success into his later adult years.

To end these thoughts, there were several aspects of Cristiano Ronaldo’s life that made him a success after his rough beginning. His early life was full of obstacles like his family crisis, his heart surgery, and unfortunately his dad’s death. All these problems that he had did not stop him from his dream of being a professional footballer. Yet he did not even get to be a professional footballer but the greatest of all time (goat). He is an extraordinary athlete (footballer), and overall a remarkable man who overcame life’s obstacles.