1.Essays I chose to read:
1. “Courage Comes With Practice” by Theresa MacPhail
2.”Navigating Turbulent Waters” by Jimmy Liao
3. “The Potential for a New Life” By Damali Ayo
2.Quotes from the text that were most interesting:
“Courage Comes With Practice” had many quotes that stood out to me as a reader. The one that intrigued me the most was, “ I believe that embracing fear produces courage” This quote was the opening statement of the essay and it was a one-sentence paragraph. When MacPhail wrote this in his opening statement to his essay he clearly got his point across on what the essay would be about. Also later on in the essay, she started a paragraph off with “I became a natural worrier.” I thought that all the most important and interesting quotes in her essay tended to be the shortest sentences out of her whole essay. To sum up her essay, she made sure to include “Courage isn’t a natural attribute of human beings…and using courage is like developing a muscle.” This last quote made me think about how you really do have to work on your ability to withhold your courage. In order to be courageous you have to work on it.
“Navigating Turbulent Waters” also had a lot of interesting quotes to me as a reader. He started off his essay by saying “ I believe in using turbulence in my life. “ When I read this I automatically knew that he had experienced some obstacle in his life that he used as motivation. It was odd to me that he apparently “Learned this studying fish.” In reality, you would not think that you could learn so much from something so small. Another quote that interested me was “ I find by letting go I can harness the complex currents of my life to propel me forward.”
Lastly, the essay “ The Potential for a New Life” had a large impact on me and had one very strong quote that stood out to me. When she stated “I realized nothing is trash” it made me think about all the times that I have simply looked at something and said “gross.” I thought that that quote was very insightful and meaningful to the rest of the essay as well as life period.
3. Similarities and Differences
All the essays are very similar that I chose to read because they all relate to making more of a situation. For example, in “ Courage Comes with Practice” Theresa used her brother and mom’s death as a way to encourage herself to live life to the fullest and even though your frightened of something you need to push through it and do it anyways. “ Navigating Turbulent Waters” is also very similar. He used the obstacles in his life to push forward. As for “ The potential for a New Life” Damali ayo one day just realized that nothing is trash and that everything should be appreciated. Even though there wasn’t a tragic event to her essay like the other two had, she experienced a situation with her adopted dog that made her wish that everything is recycled and not something to just be “ thrown away” when she passed.
4. My Favorite:
My favorite essay was by far the “Courage Comes With Practice” by Theresa MacPhail. I enjoyed it a lot because of her writing style. When she was talking about how she felt about her mom and the rules she had because of her brother’s death, I started to feel like I was in her shoes. Also I liked her sense of rebellion and her energy towards doing things that increased her courageous personality. She was straight on when she said that you have to practice being courageous and when she compared developing courage to building muscle.
Obviously, if you do not do things that may frighten you, your courage will never get any bigger then what it already is. Just like if you don’t work out your muscles will stay the same. Basically, the main reason I liked this essay, is because she embraced her brother and mom’s death as an inspiration to live life to the fullest.
5. Personal Response
My personal response would have to involve the “Courage Comes with Practice” and “Navigating Turbulent Waters” because they both relate to what I have been through in a way. I have experienced many obstacles in life. One that stands out for me is when I tore my ACL. At first I was pretty depressed, but then I eventually used this as an obstacle to become even stronger and better. When I finally was able to play again, I was very timid to play to my potentially in fear something else would happen to me and I could not play soccer. Eventually I put my fear aside and over came it. Eventually I built up enough courage where I did not have to play scared. Basically, these two essays stood out to me the most because I could relate to them.
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