Argumentative Essay 

 In everyday life individuals are faced with hardships in which they have to overcome. When people have the knowledge to overcome those hardships their perception of life can be altered and their identity can be changed. The Roman poet Horace wrote “Adversity has the effect of eliciting talents which in prosperous circumstances would have lain dormant.” I have witnessed people with adversity that, were able to come out of their shell and discover many talents they never knew they had. Horace is correct because adversity does allow people to become successful, creative, and hard workers. 

 In times of trouble, when adversities are faced, ones true character is revealed. When people have to deal with struggles they often don’t know how to respond therefore it is easily understood that their true nature is shown at their most vulnerable times. Many stories and movies portray this topic when they demonstrate how the main character has to go through rough times in order to achieve greatness. For example the movie called The Pursuit of Happyness is about a salesperson that undergoes defeats, challenges, and hardship to secure a better living for his son. Throughout his journey, he never gave up and stood firm to his goals. This movie is a clear example of how adversity can help people find their true talents and use them for something important which in this case was to help his son live a better life. 

 In life many successful people had to overcome challenges that at the end of the day it’s just going to help them realize that they are capable of overcoming them. For example, Steve Jobs was given away by his biological parents for adoption because they couldn’t afford to take care of him. Over the years he had been faced with hardships that have helped him become who he is, the father of the digital revolution. Jobs dropped out of college then he found himself in dangerous territory; with no money and no degree, he had no idea where he was going with his life. Despite his confusion and frustration, Jobs relied on one virtue to get him through this precarious time in his life trust. One can see how adversity helped him become creative in the sense of achieving success independently.  

 Our society is dramatically evolving and one can see how adversity can be faced by different types of people. Back in the late 18th century Alexander Hamilton had to face a good number of adversities. He was known as a resilient child a term that psychologists give to children who seem to overcome multiple personal and family hardships, and survive despite great odds. That is exactly what Alexander did, given the experiences that he encountered and was able to overcome. While he may well have struggled with his inner demons, the story of Alexander Hamilton is the story of a boy who overcomes adverse personal and family circumstances to attain accomplishments of legend. 

 Many people might say that adversity doesn’t help individuals find their true talents and build up their character; it would only lead them to failure. Most of the people that experience hardships they know how to overcome them because that’s our first instinct that guides us to find solutions in order to survive and maintain a stable lifestyle. Some people are weak but that is why they can seek guidance from groups or family members because at the end of the day everyone helps each other in some way or another. That is why in times of adversity, we are reminded of the importance of being grateful. You understand how people feel when they go through what you’ve experienced. Although everything around you seems to be gloomy with not one sign of hope, your pure existence on this Earth is something to be thankful for. It’s said that “when you’re thankful for the little, God will give you more to thankful for.”  

In conclusion I definitely agree with Horace’s statement because I have not only experienced it personally but I know of people that have been through those times and they are able to overcome their obstacles to demonstrate how talented they are. For example there are people that are so timid and don’t show their true self to society for their own reasons but when they are faced with hardships they are forced to show their true self. So we depend on adversity in order to discover who we truly are and what we are capable of becoming.