Local News Update: Perseverance!
By Jake Li
The Purpose of Perseverance
The people in this newsletter, like many people in history, art, literature, and media, have triumphed through adversity. What some some people don't realize is that they don't have to be superhero's with supernatural powers to persevere through hardship! These people, even if they seemed like holy figures, were ordinary humans, just like us! People can persevere, no matter their social standing or size.
Winston Churchill- Defeating the Odds
At the beginning the World War II, Nazi Germany seemed unstoppable. They had conquered almost all of Western Europe, with the only thing left to stop the Nazi Germany was Great Britain. Despite the fact that the Nazi's were seemingly unstoppable, Churchill, as Prime Minister, rallied his country with morale boosting speeches like the "Blood, Toil, Tears and Sweat" speech and famous quotes like "Never give in. Never give in. Never, never, never, never-in nothing, great or small, large or petty-never give in, except to convictions of honour and good sense". Eventually, Great Britain and the Allies defeated Nazi Germany and the Axis. Today, Churchill is not only remembered as one of the leaders that defeated the Nazi's, but one of the most resilient people in his time.
Micheal Jordan- Resilience through hardship
Before game five of the 1997 NBA finals between the Utah Jazz and the Chicago Bulls, Micheal Jordan contracted severe flu-like symptoms. Even though he was feeling sick and tired, Jordan still played that day since the series was tied at two games apiece. Despite a terrible first quarter and trailing, Jordan played amazing for the rest of the game, leading the Bulls from several deficits to a 90 to 88 victory over the Jazz. The Bulls won the next game, which not only gave Micheal Jordan his 5th MVP award and the 5th NBA title for the Chicago Bulls, but increased added to his already large resume of being one of the best basketball players the world had ever seen.
Alex Rider- Doing the "impossible"
In Anthony Horowitz's book Eagle Strike, the main character, a 14 year old boy named Alex Rider, gets caught in Sir Damian Cray's plot to "save" the world. Despite being captured and having to get through a maze based off an Aztec themed video game level to get out, despite being chased through Amsterdam on a bike by exotic sports cars and motorbikes with machine guns, despite being captured in Air Force One and being shot at by the person who organized the whole plot, Alex survives the seemingly impossible odds and brings down Cray's evil plan to destroy the world almost by himself. A teenager, defeating one of the most powerful people in the world.
The importance of Perseverance in today's society
The theme of perseverance today is very important because everyday, across this world, millions of people feel like they can do nothing to defeat their adversities and give up on their dreams. These people, can look at these inspirational examples, put them into their lives, and with effort and determination, they can persevere through their troubles and maybe, just maybe, one day change the world.