Normally, adversity, being a discouraging obstacle itself, is something to be feared of. In daily life, we strive to avoid being trapped in the swamp of adversity. However, although detesting adversity can be considered as a part of human nature, it is evident that adversity plays an essential part in human history as dealing with adversity can help a person to find out whether he is an "survival-of-the-fittest", or just another ordinary person in the numerous living beings.
Many significant events or amazing accomplishments could never happen or be made if not for the help of adversity. Enzo Ferrari would never establish the now worldy-famous car brand "Ferrari" if it weren't for that he became seriously ill during the 1918 epidemic flu and was discharged by the car-racing club he originally worked for, thus realizing his true ability. Sumner Murray Redstone would never look for a new venture and eventually purchasing Paramount Communications then converting it into one of the largest entertainment companies (Paramount Pictures) if he didn't suffer such severe burns and was warned that he would never be able to live a normal life again. This self-evident truth happen in literary works too, for example, in British author Ayn Rand's most famous novel "The Fountainhead". It was not only the protagonist Howard Roark's talent that enabled him to become an marvelous architect, but also the adversities he faces: being expelled from school, unable to find a job, framed by his classmate, etc. As can be seen from this case, when overcoming his obstacles painfully, Howard Roark also gained useful lessons from them, and this is what made him successful in the end.
Actually, the experience of overcoming adversities is not the "privilege" of great people —— anyone can do it and explore his own hidden talents through the process of dealing with obstacles. I used to be so afraid of long-distance running that I avoided every P.E. class concerning this activity by inventing different excuses every time. However, long- distance running is included in China's high school entrance examination and it accounted for 6 points in the exam. Though horrified, I started to try to accomplish this seemingly- impossible mission. However, I soon found that it was not that hard at all. Turned out that I was scaring myself all the time. You see, I might never have tried it out and ended up getting the 6 full points in my high school entrance exam if I wasn't put under such pressure. This experience of my own again proves that adversity evokes a person's inner ability that he himself hasn't discovered yet.
Indeed, some people may view adversity as a horrifying black hole as it may trap them inside and prevent them from achievements, yet others, the ones with strong determination and are meant to success, might actually view adversity as a disguised luck goddess knocking on their doors, rewarding them with big fortunes. Great people are not born great, they are great only because they remedied their deficiencies through encountering with countless adversities and defeat. So in conclusion, as the Roman poet once said: "Adversity has the effect of eliciting talents which in prosperous circumstances would have lain dormant."
