Not Failures, But Survivors
By: Paulina Sierka
Two Geniuses Combined
Albert Einstein and Thomas Edison both had a very interesting life. Their achievements and failures they went through were surprisingly similar. Einstein and Edison both invented some kind of patent or formula, along with some failures along the way.
Until Edison was four he could never talk, making others think he was "dumb". Always asking questions he wanted to ask before he could talk. He lost much of his hearing when he was young. As he got older he got a job, as telegrapher only to be fired later on because he was “non-productive” As an inventor himself, Edison had 999 unsuccessful attempts at creating the light bulb. On the 1,000 try he finally created the light bulb we use nowadays. Imagine creating something over and over again and on the 1,000 time you finally got it. That would be incredible!
Einstein, too, had problems with his speech, pausing and not knowing what to say next. By the time Einstein was 18 he had to withdraw himself out of school because of military duty. He started school again in Eidgenössische Polytechnische Schule (Swiss Federal Polytechnic School) in Zürich, Switzerland. Taking the exam entrance he failed most of the test with exceptional marks in physics and mathematics. In 1905 he found the speed of light formula, and slowly began to be noticed. With much fame his family started to fall apart, he came to a conclusion it was time to get a divorce. While marrying his cousin Elsa Löwenthal, later on in life.
Albert Edison
Died: April 18, 1955
Light Bulb
Thomas Edison
Died: October 18, 1931
Nothing Stops Him
Nightmares one by one...
Not only have people failed in life but events have too. The Holocaust is a great example of failure to many Jews and other poor people. The Holocaust began January 30, 1933. The Holocaust is a genocide or in other words, "planned attempt to physically kill every single member of the targeted ethnic, national or 'racial' group.” (Saho). The Holocaust didn’t all of a sudden start, it was a long process. The Nazis came to power in 1933. They then made laws called, Nuremberg Laws. These laws took away all human rights from the Jewish People. For example, children could not attend school, they could not run businesses, sit on park benches, if they left Germany the property they owned was taken away. In addition all Jews had to wear yellow stars to represent that they are Jewish. Then in 1938, the Nazis organized violent attacks on the Jews. With so much broken glass on the street it became to be known as the “Night of Broken Glass” Things got a lot worse when World War II, came along. Nazis began to adopt the genocide not too long after WWII began. In the late 1930’s Nazis killed thousands of handicapped Germans with lethal injections and deadly gasses. I would never imagine just being taken and killed without knowing it was a trick. In June 1941, mobile killing units began to kill Jews in open fields. They realized rounding up men,women and children wasn’t the best idea so the Nazis created death camps. Then they brought the victims into cattle trucks and brought away to the camps. After the victims were brought in, they were ordered to undress and enter the gas chambers that were disguised as a showers. Within fifteen minutes they died. After the gassing, Nazis took anything that was valuable from the bodies, and threw the dead bodies into giant ovens or burning pits. Auschwitz is the biggest death camp, located in Poland. The Holocaust ended May 8, 1945. “11 million people were killed during the Holocaust (1.1 million children). 6 million of those victims were Jewish. Other groups targeted by the Nazis were Jehovah’s Witnesses, homosexuals, disabled people, and Roma.” (Dosomething.org)
The One That Could
Marshal Bruce Mathers III, or Eminem as known today, had a tough life before becoming famous. When Eminem was an infant his father abandoned the Mathers family leaving Deborah, Eminem's mother, raising him. Deborah could never keep a stable job, resulting of moving at least two to three times a year. This impacted his personality in a big way. He never had any friends, and was treated like an outcast at every school. Shoved into lockers, pushed around in bathrooms and hallways, Eminem had a tough time when it came to school. He created a famous quote that had he experienced with his life as a kid."I say what I want to say and I do what I want to do. There's no in between. People will either love you or hate you for it." Tying with his childhood experience because nobody really liked him, he was always bullied. Failing ninth grade three times, he dropped out at age seventeen. I would never have though Eminem would fail ninth grade nine times! Even though his grades were low, he was always good at English. As a teenage dropout, he found that he could express his passion for English through rapping. He entered rap battles, where two rappers insult the other through improvised lyrics. Finally getting some respect for who he was, Eminem began to become noticed. His Personality had a great effect on his life.
The cause of Eminem taking drugs was his past experiences he has gone through in his lifetime. When he was picked on throughout his school experience, impacted him to go through a tough time. When Eminem and Kim divorced in the 2000s, and got remarried again in 2006, they constantly fought. Again they got divorced several months later, fighting, again, over custody of their daughter, Hailie. Imagine getting divorced and married to the same person twice! With this all happening Eminem went further into alcohol and drugs. In December 2007, he overdosed and nearly died. Stating "If I would have got to the hospital two hours later, that would have been it." Since this happened Eminem started to go back on track. In 2009 he released Relapse. Then again in 2010 he released Recovery, about his personal feelings and rehabilitation. About a year later Eminem realized he should be more happier than angry resulting in a normal life once again.
Despite Difficulties
Madonna as we know today, wasn’t the same before her fame. Madonna’s life wasn’t even the best when she was just a teenager. At the age of five her mother died of breast cancer. Imagine losing your own mom at a very young age, I wouldn’t even imagine that. Her mother dying was a big impact on Madonna's behavior. She began to be more rebellious. When her stepmother moved in, she became more tough on her and rarely listened to her. Even though she was rebellious, Madonna still had good grades and even received a dance scholarship. She began to be noticed and got a once in a lifetime opportunity to be with the choreographer Pearl Lang. She dropped out of college and moved to New York, to pursue her big dreams. She paid her rents with odd jobs like serving at the Russian Tea Room and and performing for the American Dance Center. From there she began to date and fell with singing and performing. Making her own types of group bands, she began to be more experienced. Deciding to go solo, Madonna hired Camille Barbone from Gotham Records to help her with her singing career. She made a lot of albums but the majority of fans loved her “Like A Prayer” album. As her fame began to grow, so did her rebellious behavior. Bringing lots of critics against her. Aside her behavior, “In January 2008 she was named the world's wealthiest female musician by Forbes magazine, with estimated earnings of more than $72 million in the last year alone.” (Bio.) Which is incredible, knowing she had a tough childhood. Madonna is not yet retired and is continuing to sing, and I believe it's very exciting.
Citations
"11 Facts About the Holocaust." 11 Facts About the Holocaust. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 June 2015. <https://www.dosomething.org/facts/11-facts-about-holocaust>.
"Albert Einstein BIography." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 22 May 2015. <http://www.biography.com/people/albert-einstein-9285408#early-life>.
"Albert Einstein." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 28 May 2015. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Einstein>.
"Biography." IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 01 June 2015. <http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0003044/bio>.
Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 01 June 2015. <http://www.biography.com/people/madonna-9394994#music-and-dance>.
"Eminem Biography." Bio. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 23 May 2015. <http%3A%2F%2Fwww.biography.com%2Fpeople%2Feminem-9542093>.
"How and Why Did the Holocaust Happen? | South African History Online." How and Why Did the Holocaust Happen? | South African History Online. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 June 2015. <http://www.sahistory.org.za/article/human-rights-issues-during-and-after-world-war-ii-focus-nazi-germany-grade-12-2>.
"How Long Did the Holocaust Last? | Ask.com." How Long Did the Holocaust Last? | Ask.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 June 2015. <http://www.ask.com/history/long-did-holocaust-last-7d62fd025a5278b2>.
"Madonna's Albums Ranked From Worst to Best." Billboard. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 June 2015. <http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/list/6495047/madonna-albums-ranked-worst-to-best>.
"Madonna Biography •." Biography Online. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 June 2015. <http://www.biographyonline.net/music/madonna.html>.
"Michael Jordan Biography." AceShowBiz. AceShowBiz, 2005-2015. Web. <http%3A%2F%2Fwww.aceshowbiz.com%2Fcelebrity%2Fmichael_jordan%2Fbiography_5.html>.
"Of Failure and Success: The Journey of Walt Disney." (Magic of Business) by Jeff Kober. Jeff Kober, 26 Aug. 2010. Web. 24 May 2015. <http://www.mouseplanet.com/9365/Of_Failure_and_Success_The_Journey_of_Walt_Disney>.
"The History Place - Holocaust Timeline." The History Place - Holocaust Timeline. History Place, n.d. Web. 01 June 2015. <http://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/holocaust/timeline.html>.
"Thomas Alva Edison Biography." Thomas Edison. Gales Beals, June 1999. Web. <http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thomasedison.com%2Fbiography.html%23jump_to_topic>.
"Thomas Edison Biography." Bio. A&E Television Networks, 2015. Web. 21 May 2015. <http://www.biography.com/people/thomas-edison-9284349#industrialist-and-business-manager>.