Everybody knows that life has it ups and downs. And we all struggle to get through the rough times we face. Jacula Prudentum once said "Every path has a puddle." I agree with this quote because we all go through obstacles and something can always end up going wrong in life. No matter what choice you make, it comes with both its positives and its negatives and something can always slow you down on the journey.
In the play, The Miracle Worker by William Gibson, Helen Keller, a young girl who was born healthy, soon became blind and deaf from suffering from a high fever and illness. Helen's family always had difficulties understanding Helen but when they did understand, they gave her everything she wanted, even if she did it in the impolite manor. All Helen was able to do before was prattle. Her parents didn't want her to grow up like this. They wanted her to learn how to speak. They needed her too. Not sure how to handle her anymore, they decide to hire an assistant to hopefully teach Helen how to communicate with the world. After several days of patience and observing Helen's behavior and ways, Annie Sullivan - Helen's teacher finds a way for her to talk; through her hands. She feels the objects surrounding her as Annie writes the word corresponding to the object on the palm of her hand. They worked on new words everyday, over and over again until Helen started to thrive and could repeat it back. Things seem to be going down the right path with Helen, but the puddle on this path is that Helen doesn't understand what she is "talking" about, she doesn't relate the object to the new words she learns. To Helen, they letters Annie make mean nothing.
With Helen still not being able to understand what she is really saying, Annie thinks it is best for Helen and her to just be alone. She moves into a small abandoned cabin located in the fields and decides to make it Helen's new home. By that, i mean she feels that being able to spend alone time with Helen constantly and having Helen depend on her 24/7 will make it easier for her to learn. Patience is key here. Annie has to work with Helen almost all day to try and make her understand better. After time, she eventually learns what the words she was once a stranger too - mean. They continued working everyday over and over again, learning new words and making Helen try to understand and feel what the words meant. Helen successes over time and becomes accomplished through out her life although she still struggles with being both deaf and blind.
Elie, in Night by Elie Wiesel comes across several puddles through out his journey. Elie and his family, being Jewish, get sent to a concentration camp when he was only just a young boy. When they first arrive to the camp, the women and the men get separated in to different lines. Little did they know, this was the last time they would ever see each other again. As the smoke forms above the building, fear strikes them all. Who would be sent to the crematory and who would not? Elie saw it as one of the scariest moments possible. Gripping on to his father. Not letting them be torn apart. One at a time, being sent into two different lines. Worried as can be as to what will happen next. They pass. But just for now. Elie and his father soon have to go through selection. A time of choosing who dies, and who stays until they can take no more. Every time is the same. Act, look, breathe and speak strong as if you haven't even began to crack yet. Elie was once told to run through selection and not to even glimpse at Nazi's. Elie ran as fast as he ever had and sooner than he knew it, he was through the doors.
Selections occurred every now and then to dispose of the weak. Soon, everyone in the camp had been sent out to move camps. They were commanded to run on foot. The guards ran with everyone, in hopes of intimidating them all. Who ever could not keep up would be shot. No matter who you were, it was indifferent. Bodies dropping of tiredness, weakness, and starvation. Everyone was turning sedentary. Elie had wished to be one of them until you hear the gun shots going off, that's when you know you have to keep going, and to push yourself. Elie and his father ran for hours. To the point where they didn't even have to think about it. Their legs were now programmed to run, run, run. Every step was another step towards proximity. But once they heard the command to stop by the guards, that's when they knew they crossed the puddle. And on the other side was a building, a building of hope and freedom. One step closer.
So next time you come across a puddle on a path, you have a choice - yes, the puddle will always be there, it's not going anywhere, but you can either choose to fall in it, or jump over it.
In the play, The Miracle Worker by William Gibson, Helen Keller, a young girl who was born healthy, soon became blind and deaf from suffering from a high fever and illness. Helen's family always had difficulties understanding Helen but when they did understand, they gave her everything she wanted, even if she did it in the impolite manor. All Helen was able to do before was prattle. Her parents didn't want her to grow up like this. They wanted her to learn how to speak. They needed her too. Not sure how to handle her anymore, they decide to hire an assistant to hopefully teach Helen how to communicate with the world. After several days of patience and observing Helen's behavior and ways, Annie Sullivan - Helen's teacher finds a way for her to talk; through her hands. She feels the objects surrounding her as Annie writes the word corresponding to the object on the palm of her hand. They worked on new words everyday, over and over again until Helen started to thrive and could repeat it back. Things seem to be going down the right path with Helen, but the puddle on this path is that Helen doesn't understand what she is "talking" about, she doesn't relate the object to the new words she learns. To Helen, they letters Annie make mean nothing.
With Helen still not being able to understand what she is really saying, Annie thinks it is best for Helen and her to just be alone. She moves into a small abandoned cabin located in the fields and decides to make it Helen's new home. By that, i mean she feels that being able to spend alone time with Helen constantly and having Helen depend on her 24/7 will make it easier for her to learn. Patience is key here. Annie has to work with Helen almost all day to try and make her understand better. After time, she eventually learns what the words she was once a stranger too - mean. They continued working everyday over and over again, learning new words and making Helen try to understand and feel what the words meant. Helen successes over time and becomes accomplished through out her life although she still struggles with being both deaf and blind.
Elie, in Night by Elie Wiesel comes across several puddles through out his journey. Elie and his family, being Jewish, get sent to a concentration camp when he was only just a young boy. When they first arrive to the camp, the women and the men get separated in to different lines. Little did they know, this was the last time they would ever see each other again. As the smoke forms above the building, fear strikes them all. Who would be sent to the crematory and who would not? Elie saw it as one of the scariest moments possible. Gripping on to his father. Not letting them be torn apart. One at a time, being sent into two different lines. Worried as can be as to what will happen next. They pass. But just for now. Elie and his father soon have to go through selection. A time of choosing who dies, and who stays until they can take no more. Every time is the same. Act, look, breathe and speak strong as if you haven't even began to crack yet. Elie was once told to run through selection and not to even glimpse at Nazi's. Elie ran as fast as he ever had and sooner than he knew it, he was through the doors.
Selections occurred every now and then to dispose of the weak. Soon, everyone in the camp had been sent out to move camps. They were commanded to run on foot. The guards ran with everyone, in hopes of intimidating them all. Who ever could not keep up would be shot. No matter who you were, it was indifferent. Bodies dropping of tiredness, weakness, and starvation. Everyone was turning sedentary. Elie had wished to be one of them until you hear the gun shots going off, that's when you know you have to keep going, and to push yourself. Elie and his father ran for hours. To the point where they didn't even have to think about it. Their legs were now programmed to run, run, run. Every step was another step towards proximity. But once they heard the command to stop by the guards, that's when they knew they crossed the puddle. And on the other side was a building, a building of hope and freedom. One step closer.
So next time you come across a puddle on a path, you have a choice - yes, the puddle will always be there, it's not going anywhere, but you can either choose to fall in it, or jump over it.