The Road To Perseverance
By Sarah Henry
What Is Perseverance?
Adam-12
Stephen J. Cannell
Young Stephen
"Inside Every Daydream Was A Hollywood Script"
Although he didn't know he had dyslexia at the time, Tom failed first, fourth, and tenth grade. This was caused by the fact that Stephen had dyslexia, and he wasn't able to treat it. A good thing was that he didn't find out until he was 35, because he could've lost all of his self-esteem and ambition, been labeled as "stupid" and "slow" or bullied.
"And what an imagination!" it says on page 66 of Unstoppable by Cynthia Keresy. Stephen had an amazing imagination, and when he was at school not paying attention, he daydreamed and created vivid stories using his imagination. When he got home, he wrote the stories on a typewriter. Unlike the stories he had to write for school under stress and pressure, Stephen's other stories were very good.
Even though Stephen wasn't good at reading, he was good at football. He had originally started football to get his mind off of school and his bad grades. His talent paid off when he got a football scholarship to University of Oregon. Unfortunately though, Stephen lost his scholarship because of bad grades, due to his dyslexia.
After he graduated college, Stephen was forced to work in his family's business because of his inadequate skills. Even though he wasn't a writer, he still wrote stories and scripts in his free time. "His writing career began in 1966 when he sold a script for a television series called Adam 12." it says on page 67 of Unstoppable by Cynthia Keresy. He was able to sell this script, because he wrote it with the imagination he developed when he was in grade school and junior high. He developed this imagination because daydreamed in class, because it was so hard with his dyslexia. So, Stephen's dyslexia helped him sell his first television script.
"Stephen J. Cannell not only overcame the challenge of dyslexia but also had used it to his advantage. Many of his most appealing characters are outsiders, nonconformist like himself." it says on page 67 and 68 of Unstoppable by Cynthia Keresy. This quote shows that Stephen used his dyslexia to help create people like him in his stories, which made the stories so good.
Overall, Stephen J. Cannell was able to overcome the obstacles that dyslexia created for him, and he became one of the most successful person in the television industry.
Donatella Lorch
Nepal Earthquake
Nepal
"Perseverance and Grace as Nepal Is Turned Upside Down"
Fortunately, Donatella Lorch and her family had an early solution, before the problem even occurred. They were prepared, with emergency gear all over the house, because they knew that a big earthquake might be coming soon. Unfortunately though, Donatella and her son were out of the house when the earthquake occurred. They were driving, and she had told her son to stay in the car when she got out. She got back into the car, and ventured home, maneuvering around the fallen debris on the road.
Once they arrived back at home, Donatella and her son noticed many neighbors asking everyone if they needed help, food or water, or a place to spend the night. This was a solution for many people, because several houses were destroyed during the earthquake.
"People here help one another because they know the government often cannot. They reach out to one another, and they persevere. They open their shops, because what else can one do when the world is upside down?" Donatella says in her article "Perseverance and Grace as Nepal Is Turned Upside Down". This is a solution for many people, because the people in Nepal are friendly, and they leave open shops so that people can buy necessitates.
A good thing was that the earthquake was during the day, when people were outside. This is good because if the earthquake was at night, then people would be in their house sleeping, and the casualties would have been much greater.
Boston Bombing 2013
415 Strong
415 Strong in the 2015 Boston Marathon
"The Running Club Where Boston Bombing Survivors Take Strides Together"
Some of the people that are survivors suffer from post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), or suffer from injuries. Some the injuries include shrapnel injuries and busted eardrums. "'We were strangers, but we all went through the same thing' said Sabrina Dello Russo, 39, a real estate project manager who suffered a shrapnel injury and now had post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)." it says on paragraph 3 of "The Running Club Where Boston Bombing Survivors Take Strides Together". This quote shows that the people that are in the club are all different, and they never knew each other before the group 415 Strong was created, but they all have something in common and are able to support each other.
Fortunately, the club "415 Strong" will be running in the 2015 Boston marathon. Even the people that had never ran a single marathon in their life will run, with 25 other members of the group. "For most of the members of 415 Strong, running was not a passion before the marathon. Given the location and timing of ht bombs, most of the people injured were spectators, many of whom had no running experience." it says in the article "The Running Club Where Boston Bombing Survivors Take Strides Together". This quote shows that most people that got injured from the bombing were people watching the race, but they still ran with the group to help support the people that were runners in the race, that are also members of the club.
Just because the club 415 Strong ran in the Boston marathon in 2015 doesn't make them strictly a running club. The group that was named after the date of the bombing - 4/15 - is also a support group for the members, a group of people that went through the same thing as them. "When the group isn't running, Dello Russo appreciates the company of people who experienced the same tragedy in the same way." it says in the article "The Running Club Where Boston Bombing Survivors Take Strides Together". This quote from the article means that Sabrina Dello Russo just likes being around the people that went through what she did, and appreciates their sympathy.
Overall, the running club 415 Strong is mainly a running and support group for people who experienced the Boston bombing during the Boston marathon in 2013. All of them suffer from PTSD, or an injury that was caused by the bombing. They run together, and they talk and support each other.
What Can We Learn From the Perseverance of Others to Help Up Overcome Our Own Adversity in Today's World?
We can also learn that these people endured all of this, and they were able to overcome all of their adversities, and appreciate them and know that they are able to do amazing things. And, if they were normal people with adversities just like us, we can learn that we can do amazing things too.