Real Success by Daissy

Real Success by Daissy - February 2014 Scholarship Essay

“What am I supposed to do when there is nothing I can do?” This is the question that many throughout time have had to answer at least once in their lives. We live in a time and place where knowledge is power; where everything is at our finger tips. Impossible has become a thing of the past. We are taught, even as young children, that we can do anything if we put our minds to it. Rarely do we come to terms with no for an answer, it seems that there is always a way around it. We are wrapped up in our world of endless possibilities where we never seem to notice the no around the corner.

As a young child I was always taught through hard work and perseverance I could do anything, be anyone. But as I got older I noticed that life happens, things beyond our control are thrust into our laps without warning. No matter how much we climb that mountain or trudge through that valley we just can’t make it to the other side.

No one knew this better than Abraham Lincoln, our sixteenth president. As a young child his family lost their home and his mother died. His life did not get any easier as a young adult; he had many lost jobs and failed businesses, his sweetheart died right before he could marry her, and he had to try multiple times before making it to office. In his later years he became president right when the country was ripped in two, he had to deal with the death of a son, and in the end his life was abruptly concluded through an unjust death.

Through all this Mr. Lincoln learned that there are times where there is nothing more we can possibly do. We know he learned this because he himself said; “I’ve been driven many times to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go.” If we look at this and think about the terrible things that had happened to him, we are left with a sense of hopelessness. After all, he is essentially saying that we are not always in control; that sometimes we don’t have all the answers. Yet through all of this, he became a man who will always be remembered for the tremendous things he was able to accomplish. If we look at his life as a whole we seldom see any giving up. What we do see, is a man who had countless struggles that realized there comes a point where we all have our limits; that sometimes all we can do is have faith. Sometimes we just have to survive; just make it through our storm until we are able to see the sun that was hidden by the clouds. Things may not be or end up how we dreamed or wanted. Mr. Lincoln taught me that sometimes nowhere is where we are supposed to be; that even though we are not blessed with a care free life of instant success. Through his quote I have come to realize we are born with the determination: to survive, to be hopeful, and to make this world a little better than before. In other words, to succeed.