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8 Overcoming Challenges College Essay Examples

The purpose of the Overcoming Challenges essay is for schools to see how you might handle the difficulties of college. They want to know how you grow, evolve, and learn when you face adversity. For this topic, there are many clichés , such as getting a bad grade or losing a sports game, so be sure to steer clear of those and focus on a topic that’s unique to you. (See our full guide on the Overcoming Challenges Essay for more tips).

These overcoming challenges essay examples were all written by real students. Read through them to get a sense of what makes a strong essay. At the end, we’ll present the revision process for the first essay and share some resources for improving your essay.

Please note: Looking at examples of real essays students have submitted to colleges can be very beneficial to get inspiration for your essays. You should never copy or plagiarize from these examples when writing your own essays. Colleges can tell when an essay isn’t genuine and will not view students favorably if they plagiarized. 

Essay 1: Becoming a Coach

“Advanced females ages 13 to 14 please proceed to staging with your coaches at this time.” Skittering around the room, eyes wide and pleading, I frantically explained my situation to nearby coaches. The seconds ticked away in my head; every polite refusal increased my desperation.

Despair weighed me down. I sank to my knees as a stream of competitors, coaches, and officials flowed around me. My dojang had no coach, and the tournament rules prohibited me from competing without one.

Although I wanted to remain strong, doubts began to cloud my mind. I could not help wondering: what was the point of perfecting my skills if I would never even compete? The other members of my team, who had found coaches minutes earlier, attempted to comfort me, but I barely heard their words. They couldn’t understand my despair at being left on the outside, and I never wanted them to understand.

Since my first lesson 12 years ago, the members of my dojang have become family. I have watched them grow up, finding my own happiness in theirs. Together, we have honed our kicks, blocks, and strikes. We have pushed one another to aim higher and become better martial artists. Although my dojang had searched for a reliable coach for years, we had not found one. When we attended competitions in the past, my teammates and I had always gotten lucky and found a sympathetic coach. Now, I knew this practice was unsustainable. It would devastate me to see the other members of my dojang in my situation, unable to compete and losing hope as a result. My dojang needed a coach, and I decided it was up to me to find one.

I first approached the adults in the dojang – both instructors and members’ parents. However, these attempts only reacquainted me with polite refusals. Everyone I asked told me they couldn’t devote multiple weekends per year to competitions. I soon realized that I would have become the coach myself.

At first, the inner workings of tournaments were a mystery to me. To prepare myself for success as a coach, I spent the next year as an official and took coaching classes on the side. I learned everything from motivational strategies to technical, behind-the-scenes components of Taekwondo competitions. Though I emerged with new knowledge and confidence in my capabilities, others did not share this faith.

Parents threw me disbelieving looks when they learned that their children’s coach was only a child herself. My self-confidence was my armor, deflecting their surly glances. Every armor is penetrable, however, and as the relentless barrage of doubts pounded my resilience, it began to wear down. I grew unsure of my own abilities.

Despite the attack, I refused to give up. When I saw the shining eyes of the youngest students preparing for their first competition, I knew I couldn’t let them down. To quit would be to set them up to be barred from competing like I was. The knowledge that I could solve my dojang’s longtime problem motivated me to overcome my apprehension.

Now that my dojang flourishes at competitions, the attacks on me have weakened, but not ended. I may never win the approval of every parent; at times, I am still tormented by doubts, but I find solace in the fact that members of my dojang now only worry about competing to the best of their abilities.

Now, as I arrive at a tournament with my students, I close my eyes and remember the past. I visualize the frantic search for a coach and the chaos amongst my teammates as we competed with one another to find coaches before the staging calls for our respective divisions. I open my eyes to the exact opposite scene. Lacking a coach hurt my ability to compete, but I am proud to know that no member of my dojang will have to face that problem again.

This essay begins with an in-the-moment narrative that really illustrates the chaos of looking for a coach last-minute. We feel the writer’s emotions, particularly their dejectedness, at not being able to compete.

Through this essay, we can see how gutsy and determined the student is in deciding to become a coach themselves. The writer shows us these characteristics through their actions, rather than explicitly telling us: To prepare myself for success as a coach, I spent the next year as an official and took coaching classes on the side.

One area of improvement of this essay would be the “attack” wording. The author likely uses this word as a metaphor for martial arts, but it feels too strong to describe the adults’ doubt of the student’s abilities as a coach, and can even be confusing at first.

Still, we see the student’s resilience as they are able to move past the disbelieving looks to help their team. The essay is kept real and vulnerable, however, as the writer admits having doubts: Every armor is penetrable, however, and as the relentless barrage of doubts pounded my resilience, it began to wear down. I grew unsure of my own abilities.

The essay comes full circle as the author recalls the frantic situations in seeking out a coach, but this is no longer a concern for them and their team. Overall, this essay is extremely effective in painting this student as mature, bold, and compassionate.

Essay 2: Starting a Fire

Was I no longer the beloved daughter of nature, whisperer of trees? Knee-high rubber boots, camouflage, bug spray—I wore the garb and perfume of a proud wild woman, yet there I was, hunched over the pathetic pile of stubborn sticks, utterly stumped, on the verge of tears. As a child, I had considered myself a kind of rustic princess, a cradler of spiders and centipedes, who was serenaded by mourning doves and chickadees, who could glide through tick-infested meadows and emerge Lyme-free. I knew the cracks of the earth like the scars on my own rough palms. Yet here I was, ten years later, incapable of performing the most fundamental outdoor task: I could not, for the life of me, start a fire. 

Furiously I rubbed the twigs together—rubbed and rubbed until shreds of skin flaked from my fingers. No smoke. The twigs were too young, too sticky-green; I tossed them away with a shower of curses, and began tearing through the underbrush in search of a more flammable collection. My efforts were fruitless. Livid, I bit a rejected twig, determined to prove that the forest had spurned me, offering only young, wet bones that would never burn. But the wood cracked like carrots between my teeth—old, brittle, and bitter. Roaring and nursing my aching palms, I retreated to the tent, where I sulked and awaited the jeers of my family. 

Rattling their empty worm cans and reeking of fat fish, my brother and cousins swaggered into the campsite. Immediately, they noticed the minor stick massacre by the fire pit and called to me, their deep voices already sharp with contempt. 

“Where’s the fire, Princess Clara?” they taunted. “Having some trouble?” They prodded me with the ends of the chewed branches and, with a few effortless scrapes of wood on rock, sparked a red and roaring flame. My face burned long after I left the fire pit. The camp stank of salmon and shame. 

In the tent, I pondered my failure. Was I so dainty? Was I that incapable? I thought of my hands, how calloused and capable they had been, how tender and smooth they had become. It had been years since I’d kneaded mud between my fingers; instead of scaling a white pine, I’d practiced scales on my piano, my hands softening into those of a musician—fleshy and sensitive. And I’d gotten glasses, having grown horrifically nearsighted; long nights of dim lighting and thick books had done this. I couldn’t remember the last time I had lain down on a hill, barefaced, and seen the stars without having to squint. Crawling along the edge of the tent, a spider confirmed my transformation—he disgusted me, and I felt an overwhelming urge to squash him. 

Yet, I realized I hadn’t really changed—I had only shifted perspective. I still eagerly explored new worlds, but through poems and prose rather than pastures and puddles. I’d grown to prefer the boom of a bass over that of a bullfrog, learned to coax a different kind of fire from wood, having developed a burn for writing rhymes and scrawling hypotheses. 

That night, I stayed up late with my journal and wrote about the spider I had decided not to kill. I had tolerated him just barely, only shrieking when he jumped—it helped to watch him decorate the corners of the tent with his delicate webs, knowing that he couldn’t start fires, either. When the night grew cold and the embers died, my words still smoked—my hands burned from all that scrawling—and even when I fell asleep, the ideas kept sparking—I was on fire, always on fire.

This essay is an excellent example because the writer turns an everyday challenge—starting a fire—into an exploration of her identity. The writer was once “a kind of rustic princess, a cradler of spiders and centipedes,” but has since traded her love of the outdoors for a love of music, writing, and reading. 

The story begins in media res , or in the middle of the action, allowing readers to feel as if we’re there with the writer. One of the essay’s biggest strengths is its use of imagery. We can easily visualize the writer’s childhood and the present day. For instance, she states that she “rubbed and rubbed [the twigs] until shreds of skin flaked from my fingers.”

The writing has an extremely literary quality, particularly with its wordplay. The writer reappropriates words and meanings, and even appeals to the senses: “My face burned long after I left the fire pit. The camp stank of salmon and shame.” She later uses a parallelism to cleverly juxtapose her changed interests: “instead of scaling a white pine, I’d practiced scales on my piano.”

One of the essay’s main areas of improvement is its overemphasis on the “story” and lack of emphasis on the reflection. The second to last paragraph about changing perspective is crucial to the essay, as it ties the anecdote to larger lessons in the writer’s life. She states that she hasn’t changed, but has only shifted perspective. Yet, we don’t get a good sense of where this realization comes from and how it impacts her life going forward. 

The end of the essay offers a satisfying return to the fire imagery, and highlights the writer’s passion—the one thing that has remained constant in her life.

Essay 3: Last-Minute Switch

The morning of the Model United Nation conference, I walked into Committee feeling confident about my research. We were simulating the Nuremberg Trials – a series of post-World War II proceedings for war crimes – and my portfolio was of the Soviet Judge Major General Iona Nikitchenko. Until that day, the infamous Nazi regime had only been a chapter in my history textbook; however, the conference’s unveiling of each defendant’s crimes brought those horrors to life. The previous night, I had organized my research, proofread my position paper and gone over Judge Nikitchenko’s pertinent statements. I aimed to find the perfect balance between his stance and my own.

As I walked into committee anticipating a battle of wits, my director abruptly called out to me. “I’m afraid we’ve received a late confirmation from another delegate who will be representing Judge Nikitchenko. You, on the other hand, are now the defense attorney, Otto Stahmer.” Everyone around me buzzed around the room in excitement, coordinating with their allies and developing strategies against their enemies, oblivious to the bomb that had just dropped on me. I felt frozen in my tracks, and it seemed that only rage against the careless delegate who had confirmed her presence so late could pull me out of my trance. After having spent a month painstakingly crafting my verdicts and gathering evidence against the Nazis, I now needed to reverse my stance only three hours before the first session.

Gradually, anger gave way to utter panic. My research was fundamental to my performance, and without it, I knew I could add little to the Trials. But confident in my ability, my director optimistically recommended constructing an impromptu defense. Nervously, I began my research anew. Despite feeling hopeless, as I read through the prosecution’s arguments, I uncovered substantial loopholes. I noticed a lack of conclusive evidence against the defendants and certain inconsistencies in testimonies. My discovery energized me, inspiring me to revisit the historical overview in my conference “Background Guide” and to search the web for other relevant articles. Some Nazi prisoners had been treated as “guilty” before their court dates. While I had brushed this information under the carpet while developing my position as a judge, i t now became the focus of my defense. I began scratching out a new argument, centered on the premise that the allied countries had violated the fundamental rule that, a defendant was “not guilty” until proven otherwise.

At the end of the three hours, I felt better prepared. The first session began, and with bravado, I raised my placard to speak. Microphone in hand, I turned to face my audience. “Greetings delegates. I, Otto Stahmer would like to…….” I suddenly blanked. Utter dread permeated my body as I tried to recall my thoughts in vain. “Defence Attorney, Stahmer we’ll come back to you,” my Committee Director broke the silence as I tottered back to my seat, flushed with embarrassment. Despite my shame, I was undeterred. I needed to vindicate my director’s faith in me. I pulled out my notes, refocused, and began outlining my arguments in a more clear and direct manner. Thereafter, I spoke articulately, confidently putting forth my points. I was overjoyed when Secretariat members congratulated me on my fine performance.

Going into the conference, I believed that preparation was the key to success. I wouldn’t say I disagree with that statement now, but I believe adaptability is equally important. My ability to problem-solve in the face of an unforeseen challenge proved advantageous in the art of diplomacy. Not only did this experience transform me into a confident and eloquent delegate at that conference, but it also helped me become a more flexible and creative thinker in a variety of other capacities. Now that I know I can adapt under pressure, I look forward to engaging in activities that will push me to be even quicker on my feet.

This essay is an excellent example because it focuses on a unique challenge and is highly engaging. The writer details their experience reversing their stance in a Model UN trial with only a few hours notice, after having researched and prepared to argue the opposite perspective for a month. 

Their essay is written in media res , or in the middle of the action, allowing readers to feel as if we’re there with the writer. The student openly shares their internal thoughts with us — we feel their anger and panic upon the reversal of roles. We empathize with their emotions of “utter dread” and embarrassment when they’re unable to speak. 

From the essay, we learn that the student believes in thorough preparation, but can also adapt to unforeseen obstacles. They’re able to rise to the challenge and put together an impromptu argument, think critically under pressure, and recover after their initial inability to speak. 

Essay 4: Music as a Coping Mechanism

CW: This essay mentions self-harm.

Sobbing uncontrollably, I parked around the corner from my best friend’s house. As I sat in the driver’s seat, I whispered the most earnest prayer I had ever offered.

Minutes before, I had driven to Colin’s house to pick up a prop for our upcoming spring musical. When I got there, his older brother, Tom, came to the door and informed me that no one else was home. “No,” I corrected, “Colin is here. He’s got a migraine.” Tom shook his head and gently told me where Colin actually was: the psychiatric unit of the local hospital. I felt a weight on my chest as I connected the dots; the terrifying picture rocked my safe little world. Tom’s words blurred as he explained Colin’s self-harm, but all I could think of was whether I could have stopped him. Those cuts on his arms had never been accidents. Colin had lied, very convincingly, many times. How could I have ignored the signs in front of me? Somehow, I managed to ask Tom whether I could see him, but he told me that visiting hours for non-family members were over for the day. I would have to move on with my afternoon.

Once my tears had subsided a little, I drove to the theater, trying to pull myself together and warm up to sing. How would I rehearse? I couldn’t sing three notes without bursting into tears. “I can’t do this,” I thought. But then I realized that the question wasn’t whether I could do it. I knew Colin would want me to push through, and something deep inside told me that music was the best way for me to process my grief. I needed to sing.

I practiced the lyrics throughout my whole drive. The first few times, I broke down in sobs. By the time I reached the theater, however, the music had calmed me. While Colin would never be far from my mind, I had to focus on the task ahead: recording vocals and then producing the video trailer that would be shown to my high school classmates. I fought to channel my worry into my recording. If my voice shook during the particularly heartfelt moments, it only added emotion and depth to my performance. I felt Colin’s absence next to me, but even before I listened to that first take, I knew it was a keeper.

With one of my hurdles behind me, I steeled myself again and prepared for the musical’s trailer. In a floor-length black cape and purple dress, I swept regally down the steps to my director, who waited outside. Under a gloomy sky that threatened to turn stormy, I boldly strode across the street, tossed a dainty yellow bouquet, and flashed confident grins at all those staring. My grief lurched inside, but I felt powerful. Despite my sadness, I could still make art.

To my own surprise, I successfully took back the day. I had felt pain, but I had not let it drown me – making music was a productive way to express my feelings than worrying. Since then, I have been learning to take better care of myself in difficult situations. That day before rehearsal, I found myself in the most troubling circumstances of my life thus far, but they did not sink me because I refused to sink. When my aunt developed cancer several months later, I knew that resolution would not come quickly, but that I could rely on music to cope with the agony, even when it would be easier to fall apart. Thankfully, Colin recovered from his injuries and was home within days. The next week, we stood together on stage at our show’s opening night. As our eyes met and our voices joined in song, I knew that music would always be our greatest mechanism for transforming pain into strength.

This essay is well-written, as we can feel the writer’s emotions through the thoughts they share, and visualize the night of the performance through their rich descriptions. Their varied sentence length also makes the essay more engaging.

That said, this essay is not a great example because of the framing of the topic. The writer can come off as insensitive since they make their friend’s struggle about themself and their emotions (and this is only worsened by the mention of their aunt’s cancer and how it was tough on them ). The essay would’ve been stronger if it focused on their guilt of not recognizing their friend’s struggles and spanned a longer period of time to demonstrate gradual relationship building and reflection. Still, this would’ve been difficult to do well.

In general, you should try to choose a challenge that is undeniably your own, and you should get at least one or two people to read your essay to give you candid feedback.

Essay 5: Dedicating a Track

“Getting beat is one thing – it’s part of competing – but I want no part in losing.” Coach Rob Stark’s motto never fails to remind me of his encouragement on early-morning bus rides to track meets around the state. I’ve always appreciated the phrase, but an experience last June helped me understand its more profound, universal meaning.

Stark, as we affectionately call him, has coached track at my high school for 25 years. His care, dedication, and emphasis on developing good character has left an enduring impact on me and hundreds of other students. Not only did he help me discover my talent and love for running, but he also taught me the importance of commitment and discipline and to approach every endeavor with the passion and intensity that I bring to running. When I learned a neighboring high school had dedicated their track to a longtime coach, I felt that Stark deserved similar honors.

Our school district’s board of education indicated they would only dedicate our track to Stark if I could demonstrate that he was extraordinary. I took charge and mobilized my teammates to distribute petitions, reach out to alumni, and compile statistics on the many team and individual champions Stark had coached over the years. We received astounding support, collecting almost 3,000 signatures and pages of endorsements from across the community. With help from my teammates, I presented this evidence to the board.

They didn’t bite. 

Most members argued that dedicating the track was a low priority. Knowing that we had to act quickly to convince them of its importance, I called a team meeting where we drafted a rebuttal for the next board meeting. To my surprise, they chose me to deliver it. I was far from the best public speaker in the group, and I felt nervous about going before the unsympathetic board again. However, at that second meeting, I discovered that I enjoy articulating and arguing for something that I’m passionate about.

Public speaking resembles a cross country race. Walking to the starting line, you have to trust your training and quell your last minute doubts. When the gun fires, you can’t think too hard about anything; your performance has to be instinctual, natural, even relaxed. At the next board meeting, the podium was my starting line. As I walked up to it, familiar butterflies fluttered in my stomach. Instead of the track stretching out in front of me, I faced the vast audience of teachers, board members, and my teammates. I felt my adrenaline build, and reassured myself: I’ve put in the work, my argument is powerful and sound. As the board president told me to introduce myself, I heard, “runners set” in the back of my mind. She finished speaking, and Bang! The brief silence was the gunshot for me to begin. 

The next few minutes blurred together, but when the dust settled, I knew from the board members’ expressions and the audience’s thunderous approval that I had run quite a race. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough; the board voted down our proposal. I was disappointed, but proud of myself, my team, and our collaboration off the track. We stood up for a cause we believed in, and I overcame my worries about being a leader. Although I discovered that changing the status quo through an elected body can be a painstakingly difficult process and requires perseverance, I learned that I enjoy the challenges this effort offers. Last month, one of the school board members joked that I had become a “regular” – I now often show up to meetings to advocate for a variety of causes, including better environmental practices in cafeterias and safer equipment for athletes.

Just as Stark taught me, I worked passionately to achieve my goal. I may have been beaten when I appealed to the board, but I certainly didn’t lose, and that would have made Stark proud.

While the writer didn’t succeed in getting the track dedicated to Coach Stark, their essay is certainly successful in showing their willingness to push themselves and take initiative.

The essay opens with a quote from Coach Stark that later comes full circle at the end of the essay. We learn about Stark’s impact and the motivation for trying to get the track dedicated to him.

One of the biggest areas of improvement in the intro, however, is how the essay tells us Stark’s impact rather than showing us: His care, dedication, and emphasis on developing good character has left an enduring impact on me and hundreds of other students. Not only did he help me discover my talent and love for running, but he also taught me the importance of commitment and discipline and to approach every endeavor with the passion and intensity that I bring to running.

The writer could’ve helped us feel a stronger emotional connection to Stark if they had included examples of Stark’s qualities, rather than explicitly stating them. For example, they could’ve written something like: Stark was the kind of person who would give you gas money if you told him your parents couldn’t afford to pick you up from practice. And he actually did that—several times. At track meets, alumni regularly would come talk to him and tell him how he’d changed their lives. Before Stark, I was ambivalent about running and was on the JV team, but his encouragement motivated me to run longer and harder and eventually make varsity. Because of him, I approach every endeavor with the passion and intensity that I bring to running.

The essay goes on to explain how the writer overcame their apprehension of public speaking, and likens the process of submitting an appeal to the school board to running a race. This metaphor makes the writing more engaging and allows us to feel the student’s emotions.

While the student didn’t ultimately succeed in getting the track dedicated, we learn about their resilience and initiative: I now often show up to meetings to advocate for a variety of causes, including better environmental practices in cafeterias and safer equipment for athletes.

Overall, this essay is well-done. It demonstrates growth despite failing to meet a goal, which is a unique essay structure. The running metaphor and full-circle intro/ending also elevate the writing in this essay.

Essay 6: Body Image

CW: This essay mentions eating disorders.

I press the “discover” button on my Instagram app, hoping to find enticing pictures to satisfy my boredom. Scrolling through, I see funny videos and mouth-watering pictures of food. However, one image stops me immediately. A fit teenage girl with a “perfect body” relaxes in a bikini on a beach. Beneath it, I see a slew of flattering comments. I shake with disapproval over the image’s unrealistic quality. However, part of me still wants to have a body like hers so that others will make similar comments to me.

I would like to resolve a silent issue that harms many teenagers and adults: negative self image and low self-esteem in a world where social media shapes how people view each other. When people see the façades others wear to create an “ideal” image, they can develop poor thought patterns rooted in negative self-talk. The constant comparisons to “perfect” others make people feel small. In this new digital age, it is hard to distinguish authentic from artificial representations.

When I was 11, I developed anorexia nervosa. Though I was already thin, I wanted to be skinny like the models that I saw on the magazine covers on the grocery store stands. Little did I know that those models probably also suffered from disorders, and that photoshop erased their flaws. I preferred being underweight to being healthy. No matter how little I ate or how thin I was, I always thought that I was too fat. I became obsessed with the number on the scale and would try to eat the least that I could without my parents urging me to take more. Fortunately, I stopped engaging in anorexic behaviors before middle school. However, my underlying mental habits did not change. The images that had provoked my disorder in the first place were still a constant presence in my life.

By age 15, I was in recovery from anorexia, but suffered from depression. While I used to only compare myself to models, the growth of social media meant I also compared myself to my friends and acquaintances. I felt left out when I saw my friends’ excitement about lake trips they had taken without me. As I scrolled past endless photos of my flawless, thin classmates with hundreds of likes and affirming comments, I felt my jealousy spiral. I wanted to be admired and loved by other people too. However, I felt that I could never be enough. I began to hate the way that I looked, and felt nothing in my life was good enough. I wanted to be called “perfect” and “body goals,” so I tried to only post at certain times of day to maximize my “likes.” When that didn’t work, I started to feel too anxious to post anything at all.  

Body image insecurities and social media comparisons affect thousands of people – men, women, children, and adults – every day. I am lucky – after a few months of my destructive social media habits, I came across a video that pointed out the illusory nature of social media; many Instagram posts only show off good things while people hide their flaws. I began going to therapy, and recovered from my depression. To address the problem of self-image and social media, we can all focus on what matters on the inside and not what is on the surface. As an effort to become healthy internally, I started a club at my school to promote clean eating and radiating beauty from within. It has helped me grow in my confidence, and today I’m not afraid to show others my struggles by sharing my experience with eating disorders. Someday, I hope to make this club a national organization to help teenagers and adults across the country. I support the idea of body positivity and embracing difference, not “perfection.” After all, how can we be ourselves if we all look the same?

This essay covers the difficult topics of eating disorders and mental health. If you’re thinking about covering similar topics in your essay, we recommend reading our post Should You Talk About Mental Health in College Essays?

The short answer is that, yes, you can talk about mental health, but it can be risky. If you do go that route, it’s important to focus on what you learned from the experience.

We can see that the writer of this essay has been through a lot, and a strength of their essay is their vulnerability, in excerpts such as this: I wanted to be admired and loved by other people too. However, I felt that I could never be enough. I began to hate the way that I looked, and felt nothing in my life was good enough. I wanted to be called “perfect” and “body goals,” so I tried to only post at certain times of day to maximize my “likes.”

The student goes on to share how they recovered from their depression through an eye-opening video and therapy sessions, and they’re now helping others find their self-worth as well. It’s great that this essay looks towards the future and shares the writer’s goals of making their club a national organization; we can see their ambition and compassion.

The main weakness of this essay is that it doesn’t focus enough on their recovery process, which is arguably the most important part. They could’ve told us more about the video they watched or the process of starting their club and the interactions they’ve had with other members.

Still, this essay shows us that this student is honest, self-aware, and caring, which are all qualities admissions officer are looking for.

Essay 7: Health Crisis

Tears streamed down my face and my mind was paralyzed with fear. Sirens blared, but the silent panic in my own head was deafening. I was muted by shock. A few hours earlier, I had anticipated a vacation in Washington, D.C., but unexpectedly, I was rushing to the hospital behind an ambulance carrying my mother. As a fourteen-year-old from a single mother household, without a driver’s license, and seven hours from home, I was distraught over the prospect of losing the only parent I had. My fear turned into action as I made some of the bravest decisions of my life. 

Three blood transfusions later, my mother’s condition was stable, but we were still states away from home, so I coordinated with my mother’s doctors in North Carolina to schedule the emergency operation that would save her life. Throughout her surgery, I anxiously awaited any word from her surgeon, but each time I asked, I was told that there had been another complication or delay. Relying on my faith and positive attitude, I remained optimistic that my mother would survive and that I could embrace new responsibilities.

My mother had been a source of strength for me, and now I would be strong for her through her long recovery ahead. As I started high school, everyone thought the crisis was over, but it had really just started to impact my life. My mother was often fatigued, so I assumed more responsibility, juggling family duties, school, athletics, and work. I made countless trips to the neighborhood pharmacy, cooked dinner, biked to the grocery store, supported my concerned sister, and provided the loving care my mother needed to recover. I didn’t know I was capable of such maturity and resourcefulness until it was called upon. Each day was a stage in my gradual transformation from dependence to relative independence.

Throughout my mother’s health crisis, I matured by learning to put others’ needs before my own. As I worried about my mother’s health, I took nothing for granted, cherished what I had, and used my daily activities as motivation to move forward. I now take ownership over small decisions such as scheduling daily appointments and managing my time but also over major decisions involving my future, including the college admissions process. Although I have become more independent, my mother and I are inseparably close, and the realization that I almost lost her affects me daily. Each morning, I wake up ten minutes early simply to eat breakfast with my mother and spend time with her before our busy days begin. I am aware of how quickly life can change. My mother remains a guiding force in my life, but the feeling of empowerment I discovered within myself is the ultimate form of my independence. Though I thought the summer before my freshman year would be a transition from middle school to high school, it was a transformation from childhood to adulthood.

This essay feels real and tells readers a lot about the writer. To start at the beginning, the intro is 10/10. It has drama, it has emotions, and it has the reader wanting more.

And, when you keep going, you get to learn a lot about a very resilient and mature student. Through sentences like “I made countless trips to the neighborhood pharmacy, cooked dinner, biked to the grocery store, supported my concerned sister, and provided the loving care my mother needed to recover” and “Relying on my faith and positive attitude, I remained optimistic that my mother would survive and that I could embrace new responsibilities,” the reader shows us that they are aware of their resilience and maturity, but are not arrogant about it. It is simply a fact that they have proven through their actions!

This essay makes us want to cheer for the writer, and they certainly seem like someone who would thrive in a more independent college environment.

Essay 8: Turned Tables

“You ruined my life!” After months of quiet anger, my brother finally confronted me. To my shame, I had been appallingly ignorant of his pain.

Despite being twins, Max and I are profoundly different. Having intellectual interests from a young age that, well, interested very few of my peers, I often felt out of step in comparison with my highly-social brother. Everything appeared to come effortlessly for Max and, while we share an extremely tight bond, his frequent time away with friends left me feeling more and more alone as we grew older.

When my parents learned about The Green Academy, we hoped it would be an opportunity for me to find not only an academically challenging environment, but also – perhaps more importantly – a community. This meant transferring the family from Drumfield to Kingston. And while there was concern about Max, we all believed that given his sociable nature, moving would be far less impactful on him than staying put might be on me.

As it turned out, Green Academy was everything I’d hoped for. I was ecstatic to discover a group of students with whom I shared interests and could truly engage. Preoccupied with new friends and a rigorous course load, I failed to notice that the tables had turned. Max, lost in the fray and grappling with how to make connections in his enormous new high school, had become withdrawn and lonely. It took me until Christmas time – and a massive argument – to recognize how difficult the transition had been for my brother, let alone that he blamed me for it.

Through my own journey of searching for academic peers, in addition to coming out as gay when I was 12, I had developed deep empathy for those who had trouble fitting in. It was a pain I knew well and could easily relate to. Yet after Max’s outburst, my first response was to protest that our parents – not I – had chosen to move us here. In my heart, though, I knew that regardless of who had made the decision, we ended up in Kingston for my benefit. I was ashamed that, while I saw myself as genuinely compassionate, I had been oblivious to the heartache of the person closest to me. I could no longer ignore it – and I didn’t want to.

We stayed up half the night talking, and the conversation took an unexpected turn. Max opened up and shared that it wasn’t just about the move. He told me how challenging school had always been for him, due to his dyslexia, and that the ever-present comparison to me had only deepened his pain.

We had been in parallel battles the whole time and, yet, I only saw that Max was in distress once he experienced problems with which I directly identified. I’d long thought Max had it so easy – all because he had friends. The truth was, he didn’t need to experience my personal brand of sorrow in order for me to relate – he had felt plenty of his own.

My failure to recognize Max’s suffering brought home for me the profound universality and diversity of personal struggle; everyone has insecurities, everyone has woes, and everyone – most certainly – has pain. I am acutely grateful for the conversations he and I shared around all of this, because I believe our relationship has been fundamentally strengthened by a deeper understanding of one another. Further, this experience has reinforced the value of constantly striving for deeper sensitivity to the hidden struggles of those around me. I won’t make the mistake again of assuming that the surface of someone’s life reflects their underlying story.

Here you can find a prime example that you don’t have to have fabulous imagery or flowery prose to write a successful essay. You just have to be clear and say something that matters. This essay is simple and beautiful. It almost feels like having a conversation with a friend and learning that they are an even better person than you already thought they were.

Through this narrative, readers learn a lot about the writer—where they’re from, what their family life is like, what their challenges were as a kid, and even their sexuality. We also learn a lot about their values—notably, the value they place on awareness, improvement, and consideration of others. Though they never explicitly state it (which is great because it is still crystal clear!), this student’s ending of “I won’t make the mistake again of assuming that the surface of someone’s life reflects their underlying story” shows that they are constantly striving for improvement and finding lessons anywhere they can get them in life.

Where to Get Your Overcoming Challenges Essays Edited

Do you want feedback on your Overcoming Challenges essays? After rereading your essays countless times, it can be difficult to evaluate your writing objectively. That’s why we created our free Peer Essay Review tool , where you can get a free review of your essay from another student. You can also improve your own writing skills by reviewing other students’ essays. 

If you want a college admissions expert to review your essay, advisors on CollegeVine have helped students refine their writing and submit successful applications to top schools. Find the right advisor for you to improve your chances of getting into your dream school!

Related CollegeVine Blog Posts

How to Write an Overcoming Challenges Essay

I frequently have students tell me that they’ve faced some challenges they think might make for a good college essay, but they aren’t sure how to gauge the strength of their topic, and they aren’t sure how to write a college essay about the challenges they’ve faced.

And those questions and confusion are understandable: While high school has probably helped prepare you to write academic essays, it’s less likely that you’ve spent much time doing the kind of personal and reflective writing you’ll want to do in a personal statement focused on challenges (which I’ll also sometimes refer to as a narrative essay).

Even the phrase “reflective writing” might seem a little new.

But no worries—I got you. In this post, I’ll walk you through:

Differences between a college essay/personal statement and a typical English class essay

How to gauge the strength of your possible “challenges” topic.

How to brainstorm your essay topic

How to structure your essay 

How to draft the essay

How to avoid sounding like a sob story (Part 1: Structure)

An example challenges essay with analysis

How to avoid sounding like a sob story (Part 2: Technique)

How to know if your challenges essay is doing its job.

By the end of this post, you should be all set to write.

A personal statement is an essay in which you demonstrate aspects of who you are by sharing some of the qualities, skills, and values you’ll bring to college. This essay is a core element of your application—admission offices use them to assess potential candidates. Personal statements are also often used by scholarship selections committees (for a guide to and some great examples of scholarship essays, head here ).

A college essay/personal statement isn’t the typical five-paragraph essay you write for English class, with an argumentative thesis and body with analysis.

Here’s a nice visual breakdown:

A note on forcing challenges: Before we dive into how to write about challenges, I want to dispel a huge misconception: You don’t have to write about challenges at all in a college essay. So no need to force it. 

In fact, definitely don’t force it.

I’ve seen tons of essays in which students take a low-stakes challenge, like not making a sports team or getting a bad grade, and try to make it seem like a bigger deal than it was.

Don’t do that.

But you also don’t have to write about challenges even if your challenges were legit challenging. You definitely can write about strong challenges you’ve faced, and I’ve seen them turn into great essays. But I’ve also seen many , many , many outstanding essays (like many of the essays at those links) that didn’t focus on challenges at all, using Montage Structure .

Great. With all that in mind, if you feel like you’ve faced challenges in your life, and you want to write about them … how do you do so well? 

A big part of the answer relates to structure. Another part has to do with technique. I’ll cover both below.

I believe that a narrative essay is more likely to stand out if it contains: 

X. Difficult or compelling challenges Y. Insight

Here’s a nice visual:

These aren’t binary—rather, each can be placed on a spectrum.

“Difficult or compelling challenges” can be put on a spectrum with things like getting a bad grade or not making a sports team on the weaker end and things like escaping war or living homeless for three years on the stronger side. While you can possibly write a strong essay about a weaker challenge, it’s really hard to do so.

“Insight” is the answer to the question, “so what?” A great insight is likely to surprise the reader a bit, while a so-so insight likely won’t. (Insight is something you’ll develop in an essay through the writing process, rather than something you’ll generally know ahead of time for a topic, but it’s useful to understand that some topics are probably easier to pull insights from than others.)

To clarify, you can still write a narrative that has a lower stakes challenge or offers so-so insights. But the degree of difficulty goes up. Probably way up. For example, the essay in the post, “ How to Write a Narrative Essay on a Challenge That TBH Wasn’t That Big of a Deal ,” focuses on a very low-stakes challenge, but the insights he draws and his craft are next-level, and it took the author more than 10 drafts.

With that in mind, how do you brainstorm possible topics that are on the easier-to-stand-out-with side of the spectrum?

How to brainstorm topics for your overcoming challenges essay

First, spend 5-10 minutes working through this Value Exercise . Those values will actually function as a foundation for your entire application—you’ll want to make sure that as a reader walks through your personal statement, supplementals, activities list, and add’l info, they get a clear sense of what your core values are through the experiences, skills, and insights you discuss.

Once you’ve got those, take 15-20 minutes (or more is great) to work through the Feelings and Needs Exercise .

Pro tip: The more time you spend doing good brainstorming, the easier drafting becomes, so don’t skip or skimp on those. And with just those two exercises, you should be ready to start drafting a strong essay about challenges.

How to structure your essay

Once you’ve done the Feelings and Needs Exercise (and go ahead and do it, if you haven’t), structuring your essay will actually be pretty straightforward.

Here’s the basic structure of what we’re calling the Narrative (Challenges-Based) Structure:

Challenges + Effects

What I Did About It

What I Learned

The word count of your essay will be split roughly into thirds, with one-third exploring the challenges you faced and the effects of those challenges, one-third what you did about them, and one-third what you learned.

Conveniently, you’ve already got the content for those sections because you did the Feelings and Needs Exercise thoroughly.

As mentioned in the Feelings and Needs post , the feelings and needs will be spread throughout your essay, with some being explicitly stated, while others can be shown more subtly through your actions and reflections.

To get a little more nuanced, within those three basic sections ( Challenges, What I Did, What I Learned ), a narrative often has a few specific story beats. There are plenty of narratives that employ different elements than what follows—for example, collectivist societies often tell stories that don’t have one central main character/hero. But it seems hard to write a college personal statement that way, since you’re the focus here. You’ve seen these beats before, even if you don’t know it—most Hollywood films use elements of this structure, for example. 

Status Quo : The starting point of the story. This briefly describes the life or world of the main character (in your essay, that’s you).

The Inciting Incident : The event that disrupts the Status Quo. Often it’s the worst thing that could happen to the main character. It gets us to wonder: Uh-oh … what will they do next? or How will they solve this problem?

Raising the Stakes/Rising Action : Builds suspense. The situation becomes more and more tense, decisions become more important, and our main character has more and more to lose.

Moment of Truth : The climax. Often this is when our main character must make a choice.

New Status Quo : The denouement or falling action. This often tells us why the story matters or what our main character has learned. Think of these insights or lessons as the answer to the big “so what?” question.

Whether you want to just stick with the bullet points in your Feelings and Needs columns, or you want to also lay out your Status Quo , Inciting Incident , etc., is up to you—either approach can work well.

How to draft your challenges essay

First, outline.

Outlining will save you a ton of time revising.

And conveniently, again, you’ve already got most of what you need to build a strong outline.

Simply grab the bullet points from your Challenges + Effects , What I Did About It , and What I Learned columns from the exercise and stack them. For example, here’s a sample outline, followed by a link to the essay it led to:

Narrative Outline (developed from the Feelings and Needs Exercise)

Challenges:

Domestic abuse (physical and verbal)

Controlling father/lack of freedom

Sexism/bias

Prevented from pursuing opportunities

Cut off from world/family

Lack of sense of freedom/independence

Faced discrimination

What I Did About It:

Pursued my dreams

Traveled to Egypt, London, and Paris alone

Challenged stereotypes

Explored new places and cultures

Developed self-confidence, independence, and courage

Grew as a leader

Planned events

What I learned:

Inspired to help others a lot more

Learned about oppression, and how to challenge oppressive norms

Became closer with mother, somewhat healed relationship with father

Need to feel free

And here’s the essay that became: “ Easter ”

This is why you want to outline well before drafting—while virtually every essay will have to go through 5+ drafts to become outstanding, outlining well (like the above) makes writing a strong first draft much, much easier.

A few last tips on writing your early drafts:

Don’t worry about word count (within reason).

Don’t worry about making your first draft perfect—it won’t be. Just write.

Don’t worry about a fancy opening or ending.

If your first couple drafts of a max 650-word essay are 800 or 900 words, you’re totally fine. You’ll just have to cut some. But that kind of cutting often makes writing better.

And eventually, you’ll want a strong hook and an ending that shows clear, interesting insights. Insight in particular can be the toughest part of writing, as you may not have previously spent much time reflecting on why your experiences are important to you, how they’ve shaped your values and sense of self, and how they in essence help to fill out the bigger picture of who you are. But don’t let that stop you from writing your early drafts. Again, you’ll revise those things.

Just write.

Then revise. And revise. And revise ...

This is a common concern many students have.

If I tell you a personal story about a challenge I faced, I don’t want you to think I’m doing so because I want you to pity me.

But you also want to be able to tell a story, because one way to help us see who you are is to show us what values and insights you’ve developed through the challenges you’ve faced. So, if you have a challenge you think might make for a strong college essay, learning how to write in a way that shows a reader what you’ve been through without feeling like you’re “telling a sob story” is super important. 

Here’s how to do that.

Most of how you avoid a “sob story” is through structure. Think back to what we talked about earlier:  

Notice that two-thirds of your essay doesn’t focus on the challenges you’re facing—you focus on who you’ve become because of them. Most of the story is about what you did, what you learned, how you’ve grown.

This is why you don’t think of most movies as sob stories—because they’re not an hour and 40 minutes of details about bad things that have happened, and just 20 minutes of actions and growth.

This leads to an important note: It can be hard to write about a challenge that you’re still in the early stages or middle of working through. You can try. But it may be easier to turn that challenge into a paragraph in a montage, rather than trying to build a full essay around it (since you may not have as much to say regarding the What I Did and What I Learned aspects yet, and those are really important).

Here’s a nice example essay that uses Narrative Structure to write about challenges well. As you read it, ask yourself if it seems like a “sob story” to you.

Example challenges essay with analysis:

¡Levántate, Mijo! “¡Mijo! ¡Ya levántate! ¡Se hace tarde!” (Son! Wake up! It's late already.) My father’s voice pierced into my room as I worked my eyes open. We were supposed to open the restaurant earlier that day.  Ever since 5th grade, I have been my parents’ right hand at Hon Lin Restaurant in our hometown of Hermosillo, Mexico. Sometimes, they needed me to be the cashier; other times, I was the youngest waiter on staff. Eventually, when I got strong enough, I was called into the kitchen to work as a dishwasher and a chef’s assistant.  The restaurant took a huge toll on my parents and me. Working more than 12 hours every single day (even holidays), I lacked paternal guidance, thus I had to build autonomy at an early age. On weekdays, I learned to cook my own meals, wash my own clothes, watch over my two younger sisters, and juggle school work.  One Christmas Eve we had to prepare 135 turkeys as a result of my father’s desire to offer a Christmas celebration to his patrons. We began working at 11pm all the way to 5am. At one point, I noticed the large dark bags under my father’s eyes. This was the scene that ignited the question in my head: “Is this how I want to spend the rest of my life?”  The answer was no. So I started a list of goals. My first objective was to make it onto my school’s British English Olympics team that competed in an annual English competition in the U.K. After two unsuccessful attempts, I got in. The rigorous eight months of training paid off as we defeated over 150 international schools and lifted the 2nd Place cup; pride permeated throughout my hometown.  Despite the euphoria brought by victory, my sense of stability would be tested again, and therefore my goals had to adjust to the changing pattern. During the summer of 2014, my parents sent me to live in the United States on my own to seek better educational opportunities. I lived with my grandparents, who spoke Taishan (a Chinese dialect I wasn’t fluent in). New responsibilities came along as I spent that summer clearing my documentation, enrolling in school, and getting electricity and water set up in our new home. At 15 years old, I became the family’s financial manager, running my father’s bank accounts, paying bills and insurance, while also translating for my grandmother, and cleaning the house.  In the midst of moving to a new country and the overwhelming responsibilities that came with it, I found an activity that helped me not only escape the pressures around me but also discover myself. MESA introduced me to STEM and gave me nourishment and a new perspective on mathematics. As a result, I found my potential in math way beyond balancing my dad’s checkbooks.  My 15 years in Mexico forged part of my culture that I just cannot live without. Trying to fill the void for a familiar community, I got involved with the Association of Latin American students, where I am now an Executive Officer. I proudly embrace the identity I left behind. I started from small debates within the club to discussing bills alongside 124 Chicanos/Latinos at the State Capitol of California.  The more I scratch off from my goals list, the more it brings me back to those days handling spatulas. Anew, I ask myself, “Is this how I want to spend the rest of my life?” I want a life driven by my passions, rather than the impositions of labor. I want to explore new paths and grow within my community to eradicate the prejudicial barriers on Latinos. So yes, this IS how I want to spend the rest of my life.

Structural Analysis:

First, here’s a breakdown of how the author uses that 3-part structure to effectively tell his story:

Working to help support family

Physical toll

Caring for self and sisters

Prospects of spending life this way

Adapting to life in US

What I Did About It/Them

British English Olympics team and competition

Cleared documentation

Ran household for grandparents

Became family’s financial manager

MESA and STEM

Association of Latin American students

Pride in leadership

Autonomy and independence

Potential in mathematics

Personal perspective/value of cultural identity

Desire to push back against prejudice

Answer to “How do I want to spend my life?”

And here’s how the essay uses those narrative elements from before:

Status Quo : Life growing up workin in the family’s restaurant. Responsibilities. The daily toll.

The Inciting Incident : Cooking 135 turkeys on Christmas Eve and questioning if this is how he wants to spend his life.

Raising the Stakes/Rising Action : British English Olympics training and competition. Moving to the U.S. Taking on further responsibilities. Exploring MESA/STEM. Joining/leading the Assoc. of Latin American Students. 

Moment of Truth : Re-asking “Is this how I want to spend my life?”

New Status Quo : New sense of purpose. Life driven by passions. Growth within community. Push back against prejudice.

There’s a lot of other nice stuff in that essay—we see a bunch of core values , there’s vulnerability in sharing his difficulties and worries, there are nice insights and reflections related to his growth, and there are some nice moments of craft, like re-raising the question about how he wants to spend his life.

But since we’re here to talk about how to write well about challenges, in particular, I’d want you to reflect on your response to what I asked you to think about just before the essay: Does it seem like a sob story?

Not really. Why? Largely, it’s due to the structure—the author uses the approach we’ve discussed in this post, focusing mostly on what he did in response to these challenges, and what he learned from them. It’s extremely hard for a story told like that to come off as an attempt to evoke pity. Rather, it feels inspiring. At least it does to me.

While structure alone can enable you to write about a challenge effectively (without sounding like a sob story), there are also some great techniques you can use to further strengthen how you communicate a narrative. 

And a heads-up that two of these might seem to contradict each other. They don’t, but maybe it’s subtle. I’ll clarify after.

1. BE STRAIGHTFORWARD AND DIRECT

This is the simplest way, and it can be the most vulnerable (which is a good thing; more on this in a bit). Why? Because there's nothing dressing it up—no hiding behind artifice—you're just telling it like it is.

Personal statement example: 

At age three, I was separated from my mother. The court gave full custody of both my baby brother and me to my father. Of course, at my young age, I had no clue what was going on. However, it did not take me long to realize that life with my father would not be without its difficulties.

- Excerpt from "Raising Anthony" in College Essay Essentials and inside our Pay-What-You-Can online course: How to Write a Personal Statement

Here, the author does a nice job of straightforwardly laying out the challenges she faced and the effects of those challenges. That quality of her language allows us as readers to fill in the feelings and impact around those challenges—I feel like I’m seeing just the part of an iceberg poking above the surface, while a whole world of experience lies below. And because she’s been so clear, my imagination starts filling in that world.

Here’s another nice example:

It was the first Sunday of April. My siblings and I were sitting at the dinner table giggling and spelling out words in our alphabet soup. The phone rang and my mother answered. It was my father; he was calling from prison in Oregon. My father had been stopped by immigration on his way to Yakima, Washington, where he’d gone in search of work. He wanted to fulfill a promise he’d made to my family of owning our own house with a nice little porch and a dog.

- Excerpt from “ The Little Porch and a Dog ”

IMPORTANT: I know I’m repeating myself here, but it’s so important, I’m fine doing so: Most of your “challenges” essay isn’t actually about the challenges you face. That’s an added bonus with using simple and direct language—doing so allows you to set up your challenges in the first paragraph or two, so you can then move on and dedicate most of the essay to a) what you did about it and b) what you learned. So just tell us, with clear and direct language.

2. WITH A LITTLE HUMOR

Click here for a quick clip, or Google this phrase:

“Ding-dong, the wicked witch is dead.”

Someone just got crushed by a house. That’s actually a pretty dark moment.

But it doesn’t feel nearly as dark as it actually is. Because they’re singing about it and dancing.

This is something you can do in writing about challenges: Add a touch of levity (by “a touch,” I mean probably not Munchkins-singing-and-dancing level … that’s more than a touch). 

Here’s a personal statement example: 

When I was fifteen years old I broke up with my mother. We could still be friends, I told her, but I needed my space, and she couldn’t give me that.

- Excerpt from " Breaking Up With Mom "

Note how she uses the (funny, but subtle) cliche of “I needed space” and puts it in the context of something that was a pretty big deal for her—cutting her mother off. 

Another example: 

I’ve desperately attempted to consolidate my opposing opinions of Barbie into a single belief, but I’ve accepted that they’re separate. In one, she has perpetuated physical ideals unrepresentative of how real female bodies are built. Striving to look like Barbie is not only striving for the impossible—the effort is detrimental to women’s psychological and physical health, including my own. In the other, Barbie has inspired me in her breaking of the plastic ceiling. She has dabbled in close to 150 careers, including some I’d love to have: a UNICEF Ambassador, teacher, and business executive. And although it’s not officially listed on her résumé, Barbie served honorably in the War in Afghanistan.

- Excerpt from “Barbie vs. Terrorism and the Patriarchy” in College Essay Essentials and inside our Pay-What-You-Can online course: How to Write a Personal Statement

Again, the humor here is subtle—“plastic ceiling” and the image of Barbie serving in Afghanistan—but it shapes the reader’s impression nicely.

A third example:

Up on stage, under the glowing spotlight, and in front of the glowering judge, I felt as if nothing could get in my way. As would soon be evident, I was absolutely right. The last kid got out on casserole—I eat casseroles for breakfast.

- Excerpt from “Much Ado About Nothing” on this post on writing about weaker challenges .

Far less subtle, but pretty great—that essay is full of puns and wordplay that demonstrate a strong level of craft (but it took him many revisions to get there).

If you want to try incorporating humor into your writing, great—just be sure to revise several times, as you’ll want to walk a refined line.

3. WITH A LITTLE POETRY

Here’s a personal statement example:

Smeared blood, shredded feathers. Clearly, the bird was dead. But wait, the slight fluctuation of its chest, the slow blinking of its shiny black eyes. No, it was alive. I had been typing an English essay when I heard my cat's loud meows and the flutter of wings. I had turned slightly at the noise and had found the barely breathing bird in front of me. The shock came first. Mind racing, heart beating faster, blood draining from my face. I instinctively reached out my hand to hold it, like a long-lost keepsake from my youth. But then I remembered that birds had life, flesh, blood. Death. Dare I say it out loud? Here, in my own home?

- Excerpt from “ Dead Bird ” 

IMPORTANT: Writing poetically is extremely difficult to do—like walking a high-wire—and, if done poorly, this can fail spectacularly. I’d only recommend this if 1) you have lots of time before your essay is due, 2) you consider yourself a moderately-good-to-great writer and, 3) you’re able to write about your challenges with distance and objectivity (i.e., you have mostly or completely come through the challenge(s) you’re describing). If you’re short on time, don’t have a lot of experience writing creative non-fiction, or are still very much “in it,” I’d recommend not choosing this method.

Straightforward and direct … and with poetry?

In case it seems like I’m contradicting myself by saying that you can be simple and straightforward and be poetic: I don’t think these are necessarily opposites (certainly not here, at least). The kind of poetic language I’m talking about here isn’t flowery or fanciful. Some of my favorite poems are actually pretty simple . But they’re still beautiful.

If you're unsure/insecure about adding humor or poetry, totally understandable, and I'd recommend experimenting with the straightforward method. It'll get you started. And, who knows, maybe some humor and poetry will emerge. 

For example, here’s the opening to the “ Easter " essay from above. 

It was Easter and we should’ve been celebrating with our family, but my father had locked us in the house. If he wasn’t going out, neither were my mother and I.

My mother came to the U.S. from Mexico to study English. She’d been an exceptional student and had a bright future ahead of her. But she fell in love and eloped with the man that eventually became my father. He loved her in an unhealthy way, and was both physically and verbally abusive. My mother lacked the courage to start over so she stayed with him and slowly let go of her dreams and aspirations. But she wouldn’t allow for the same to happen to me.

To my mind, there’s a beauty in how straightforward the language here is. It’s almost poetic in effect.

The best personal statements often share a lot of the same qualities even when they’re about drastically different topics. 

Here are a few qualities I believe make for an outstanding personal statement

You can identify the applicant’s core values. In a great personal statement, we should be able to get a sense of what fulfills, motivates, or excites the author. These can be things like humor, beauty, community, and autonomy, just to name a few. So when you read back through your essay, you should be able to detect at least 4-5 different values throughout.  When you look for these values, also consider whether or not they’re varied or similar. For instance, values like hard work, determination, and perseverance … are basically the same thing. Whereas more varied values like resourcefulness, healthy boundaries, and diversity can showcase different qualities and offer a more nuanced sense of who you are.

It’s vulnerable. I love when, after reading an essay, I feel closer to the writer. The best essays I’ve seen are the ones where the authors have let their guard down some. Don’t be afraid to be honest about things that scare, challenge, or bother you. The personal statement is a great space for you to open up about those aspects of yourself.  As you’re writing, ask yourself: Does the essay sound like it’s mostly analytical, or like it’s coming from a deeper, more vulnerable place? Remember, this essay is a place for emotional vulnerability. After reading it, the admission officer should (hopefully) feel like they have a better sense of who you are.

It shows insight and growth. Your personal statement should ideally have at least 3-5 “so what” moments, points at which you draw insights or reflections from your experiences that speak to your values or sense of purpose. Sometimes, “so what” moments are subtle. Other times, they’re more explicit. Either way, the more illuminating, the better. They shouldn’t come out of nowhere, but they also shouldn’t be predictable. You want your reader to see your mind in action and take that journey of self-reflection with you.

It demonstrates craft (aka it’s articulate and reads well). While content is important, craft is what’ll bring the best stories to life. Because of this, it’s important to think of writing as a process—it’s very rare that I’ve seen an outstanding personal statement that didn’t go through at least 5 drafts. Everything you write should be carefully considered . You don’t want your ideas to come off as sloppy or half-baked. Your reader should see the care you put into brainstorming and writing in every sentence. Ask yourself these questions as you write:

Do the ideas in the essay connect in a way that’s logical, but not too obvious (aka boring)? 

Can you tell the author spent a lot of time revising the essay over the course of several drafts? 

Is it interesting and succinct throughout? If not, where do you lose interest? Where could words be cut, or which part isn’t revealing as much as it could be?

Next steps and final thoughts

I hope that, after working through all of this post, you feel well-equipped to dive into writing about your challenges.

To do so, here’s what you can do:

Step 1: Value Exercise —get a clearer sense of what core values you want to illustrate throughout your application.

Step 2: Work through the Feelings and Needs Exercise .

Step 3: Outline using the bullet points from your Feelings and Needs column, focusing on “Challenges + Effects,” “What I Did,” “What I Learned.”

Step 4: Draft. Then revise. And revise. And keep going.

Start exploring.

For essay writing tips from tons of experts, check out my 35+ Best College Essay Tips from College Application Experts.

Another awesome sample essay: The "Punk Rock Philosopher" Example Personal Statement

Want help writing your personal statement, check out my course  below..

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How to Write the Overcoming Challenges Essay + Example

April 17, 2023

At some point, most college-bound students are tasked with writing an overcoming challenges essay. The prompt crops up in various forms, as a supplemental short essay about overcoming a challenge, and in as the main essay itself.

Some students may feel inclined to write about a dramatic experience (say, spotting a grizzly bear outside the kitchen window), mistaking the drama of the moment for a significant challenge. Others may get to work, only to realize they don’t have much to say about the time they got a C in P.E. (that dreaded frisbee unit). Students who’ve overcome unspeakable difficulties, like a death in the family, may find that reducing the tragedy to 650 words feels insufficient, or worse—as if they’re attempting to profit from suffering. One or two students may stare down the blank computer screen as their entire existence shrinks to the size of a 12-point font. Should they write about the challenge of writing about the challenge of writing an overcoming challenges essay??

Don’t worry. Focusing first on how to tackle the essay will help any student decide what they should write about. In fact, how the essay is written will also prove more influential than the challenge itself in determining the strength of the essay.

Decoding the Prompt

Let’s take a look at the overcoming challenges essay question included among the seven 2023-24 Common App Essay Prompts :

The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?

Notice how the prompt places an immediate emphasis on the “lessons we take,” rather than on the obstacles themselves, or any potential success. This is because the challenge itself often says less about the student than the way the student chose to tackle it, or the way they now reflect on it. In other words, obstacles often come at us randomly; it’s our personal response to the circumstances which reveals something of who we are.

While studying a prompt for clues, it’s helpful to think from the perspective of the admissions officer (the essay reader). What can they glean from an overcoming challenges essay?  A lot, actually. A thoughtfully written essay may tell them about the student’s personality, as well as things like problem-solving techniques, rigor, persistence, creativity, and courage. These insights can work to prove to the admissions officers that the student has what it takes to overcome challenges in college, too. These future challenges may range from the inevitable academic obstacles that occur with heavy courseloads, to social and moral challenges that arise as college students form their adult identities.

Picking Your Topic: A Brainstorming Activity

With the question of identity in mind, let’s now approach the overcoming challenges essay backwards, by brainstorming the final message the student wants it to contain.

For this three-part exercise, the student will first set a five-minute timer. With the clock ticking, they’ll jot down character traits, values, and any descriptive words or terms that say something about who they are. If stumped, change perspective. The student may imagine what their best friends, parents, coaches and siblings would say. (For example, tenacious , logical , scientific , peacemaker .) Even mild criticism can be helpful, as long as it’s not cruel. While a student’s brother may call him a “perfectionist,” perhaps this word will trigger other relevant words, like persistent and detail-oriented.

Next, the student will set the timer for another five minutes, pull out a second sheet of paper, and jot down any challenges, obstacles, setbacks, failures, and achievements that come to mind. Don’t hold back here or overanalyze. (For example: underdog at state swim meet , getting lost on the family hike , petitioning for a school compost system …)

Lastly, the student will place the two pages side by side, and draw lines between the items on the list wherever connections occur. One student may draw lines between persistent , curious , gamer , passionate about electronics , and saved the day during the power outage. Another set of lines might connect caring, observant, creative thinker , and helped sister leave abusive cult . Whatever ideas are sparked here, the goal is to identify which challenges will demonstrate something essential about the student to an admissions officer.

Topics to Avoid

The internet is rife with advice on what not to write when writing an overcoming challenges essay. Yet this advice can be confusing, or downright hypocritical. For instance, some may advise against writing about death. Yet a student who lost their father at an early age may be capable of writing a poignant essay about their search for an alternative father figure, and how they found one in their soccer coach.

I suggest avoiding guides on what not to write until after the student has done a thorough round of brainstorming. Otherwise, they risk censoring themselves too early, and may reject a promising idea. Once they’ve narrowed down their list to three ideas or less, they may want to check our guide on College Application Essay Topics to Avoid .

The reason why certain types of overcoming challenges essays miss the mark is that they emphasize the wrong aspect of the experience, which turns the topic into a cliché. While it’s generally a good idea to avoid trivial topics (again, that C in P.E.), any topic has the potential to be compelling, if it’s animated through personal opinions, insight, and description. Details bring an experience to life. Structure and reflection make an essay convincing. In other words, how the story is told will determine whether or not the topic is worth writing about.

So, rather than avoid specific topics, consider avoiding these scenarios: if you can’t show the essay to your best friend or grandmother, it’s probably not ready to show a college admissions officer. If you must write a clichéd topic, don’t choose a typical structure.

Techniques to Hone

Techniques that animate an overcoming challenges essay are the same ones used in storytelling. Think setting, visuals, sounds, dialogue, physical sensations, and feelings. “Showing” instead of “telling.” Crafting the essay with these inner and external details will bring the challenge to life, and catch the reader’s attention.

Another technique which works well when trying to avoid the trappings of cliché involve subverting the reader’s expectations. In storytelling terms, this is a plot twist. The student who got a C in P.E. may actually have a stellar essay on their hands, if they can break away from the “bad grade” trope (working harder to improve their grade). Perhaps this student’s story is actually about how, while sitting on the bleachers and not participating in the game, they found themselves watching the frisbee spin through the air, and realized they had a deep interest in the movement of astronomical bodies.

Some of the strongest overcoming challenges essays demonstrate what students have learned about themselves, rather than what they’ve learned about the obstacle they confronted. These essays may show how the student has come to see themselves differently, or how they’ve decided to change, thanks to the challenge they faced. These essays work because the reflection is natural and even profound, based on the student’s self-awareness.

Writing the Overcoming Challenges Essay, or Drafts, Drafts, Drafts

Everyone writes differently, some by outlining (never a bad idea), some by free-styling (good for capturing sensations and memories), some by lighting a candle—but don’t procrastinate too much. The only “must” is to revise. After a first draft, the student should begin to look for several things:

1) Clarity and Detail. Is the challenge recounted with precision? Is it personal?

2) Structure. Consider mapping the structure, to visualize it better. Does the structure suit the story? Can it be changed for clarity, or to keep the reader more engaged?

3) Cliché. Identify words, sentences, and ideas that are dull or repetitive. Mark them up, and in the next draft, find ways to rewrite, subvert, condense, and delete.

4) Lesson Learned. Has the student reflected adequately on the lesson they learned from overcoming a challenge? To add more reflection, students might ask themselves what they have felt and thought about the experience since. Would they do something differently, if faced with the same challenge? Has their understanding of the experience evolved over time?

By the final draft, the experience and the reflection should feel equally weighted. To get there, it may take five or six drafts.

Overcoming Challenges Essay Sample

The Happiness Hotline

First there were reports. Then we were told to stop socializing, go inside, wait. Covid struck. Everyone knows what ensued. It probably looked different from where we were all (separately) standing, even though we faced the same thing. Those first weeks, I stood at my bedroom window. It was dark by early evening in Oregon. The weirdest part—after the fact that we were collectively sharing the loneliest experience of our lives—was the silence.

… it was really quiet.

So quiet, I could hear my mom sigh downstairs. (So quiet, I couldn’t remember if I’d hummed aloud, or if I’d just heard myself in my head.) When I looked out the window, I could hear the stoplight at the end of our street. Green to yellow. Click.

Before going on, you should know three things. First, this is not a Covid essay. This is about melancholy, and the “sadness that has taken on lightness,” to quote Italo Calvino. Second, from my bedroom window, I can see down a row of oak trees, past the hospital, to my friend Carlo’s house. Third, Carlo is a jazz singer. Maybe that sounds pretentious, a freshman kid being a jazz singer, but that’s Carlo, and I wouldn’t be me without Carlo being Carlo. He’s someone who appreciates the unhinged rhythm of a Charlie Parker tune. He’s an extrovert who can bring introverts like me out of my shell. He convinced me to learn trombone, and together we riff in the after-school jazz club.

In the first month of the pandemic, we called each other nightly to talk rap albums, school stuff. At Carlo’s house, he could hear a white-crowned sparrow. He could also hear his parents talking numbers behind the bathroom door. The death toll was mounting. The cost of living was going up too. As the month wore on, I began to hear something else in our calls, in the way Carlo paused, or forgot what he was saying. Carlo was scared. He felt sad, isolated, and without his bright energy, I too, felt utterly alone.

Overcoming Challenges Essay Sample (Continued)

After some dark days, I realized that to help ourselves we needed to help others. It was pretty obvious the more I thought about it. People are social creatures, supposedly, even introverts. Maybe our neighbors needed to remember the noisiness of life.

We built a happiness hotline. That sounds fancy, though essentially, we provided three-way calls on my parents’ landline. The harder part involved making flyers and putting them up around town, in places people were still going. Grocery stores, the post office. We made a TikTok account, and then—the phone rang. Our first caller.

For months, if you called in, you could talk to us about your days in lockdown. People went really deep about the meaning of life, and we had to learn on the spot how to respond. I’d become a journalist and a therapist before becoming a sophomore. After chatting, the caller would request a song, and if we knew how to play it, we would. If not, we improvised.

Now we’re seniors in high school. Carlo visits the hospital with band members. As for myself, I’ve been working on a community music book, compiling our callers’ favorite tunes. I don’t want to forget how important it felt to make these connections. Our callers taught me that loneliness is a bit like a virus, a bit like a song. Even when it stops it can come back to haunt you, as a new variant or an old refrain. Still, sadness can take on lightness when voices call through the dark: sparrows, friends, strangers. I learned I’m good at listening into the silence. Listening isn’t only a passive stance, but an open line of receiving.

Analysis of the Overcoming Challenges Essay Sample

This student uses their musical passion to infuse the essay with vivid detail. There’s a focus on sound throughout, from the bird to the stoplight. Then there are the callers, and the clever way the student conceived of breaking through the silence. The narrator’s voice sharpens the piece further, elevating a clichéd Covid essay to a personal story of self-discovery.

In fact, the essay briefly breaks with structure to tell the reader that this is not a Covid essay. Although techniques like this should be used sparingly, it works here by grabbing the reader’s attention. It also allows the student to organize their thoughts on the page, before moving the plot along.

Outwardly, the student is overcoming the challenge of loneliness in a time of quarantine. Yet there seems to be an inner, unspoken challenge as well, that of coming to terms with the student’s introverted personality. The essay’s reflection occurs in the final paragraph, making the essay experience-heavy. However, clues woven throughout point to the reflection that will come. Details like the Italo Calvino quote hint at the later understanding of how to alleviate loneliness. While some readers might prefer more development, the various themes are threaded throughout, which makes for a satisfying ending.

A Last Word on the Short Essay About Overcoming Challenges

The short essay about overcoming a challenge requires the same steps as a longer one. To write it, follow the same brainstorming activity, then focus more on condensing and summarizing the experience. Students who’ve already written a longer overcoming challenges essay can approach the short essay about overcoming a challenge by streamlining. Instead of deleting all the extra bits, keep two interesting details that will flavor the essay with something memorable and unique.

• College Essay

Kaylen Baker

With a BA in Literary Studies from Middlebury College, an MFA in Fiction from Columbia University, and a Master’s in Translation from Université Paris 8 Vincennes-Saint-Denis, Kaylen has been working with students on their writing for over five years. Previously, Kaylen taught a fiction course for high school students as part of Columbia Artists/Teachers, and served as an English Language Assistant for the French National Department of Education. Kaylen is an experienced writer/translator whose work has been featured in Los Angeles Review, Hybrid, San Francisco Bay Guardian, France Today, and Honolulu Weekly, among others.

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Playing with Fate

Write about a character who attempts to alter their predestined fate, only to be met with tragedy..

This prompt delves into themes of predestination versus free will, the risks of challenging fate, and how the pursuit of changing destiny can lead to unforeseen and often tragic results. Reflect upon how your character confronts the inevitability of their fate, their determination to manipulate outcomes, and the devastating outcomes of their audacity.

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Essays About Challenges: Top 11 Examples and Prompts

We come across many challenges we must endure throughout life. If you want to write essays about challenges, start by reading some of our top essay examples.

Everyone has had to deal with obstacles or challenges at some point. Some people can overcome hurdles with confidence and bravery, while many others have difficulty trying to face them. However, the challenges we have faced are, without a doubt, a central part of who we are today. Overcoming challenges can make you a better person. The lessons you learn from them are essential for future success, and as with all other experiences, these challenges help form you into the person you are today. They can also be exciting to some, as they test your skills and capabilities. 

If you are writing essays about challenges, look at our featured essay examples below. 

1. Personal Challenges by Delores Goodwin

2. life’s struggles make us stronger – and happier – if we let them by helen g. rousseau, 3. how to overcome your challenges with openness and courage by tony fahkry.

• 4.  ​​Life: full of challenges by Vaibhav Jain

5. Challenges Facing Public Schools by Lewis Rios

1. challenges i have faced, 2. lessons learned from challenges, 3. how to change your attitude towards challenge, 4. helping others overcome challenges and adversity, 5. challenges faced in your home country, 6. challenges the world currently faces.

“A challenge will tell an individual more about themselves than anything else in life. Am I a quitter? How much adversity can I take? How badly do I want this? What is my breaking point? Where does my loyalty end? Challenge can ask us hundreds of questions and forces us to answer honestly. Challenges end the talk and make one walk the walk. Create challenges for yourself, it will cause you to see who you really are.”

Challenges are a necessity of life despite the hardship and stress they come with, and Goodwin discusses this in her essay. A great accomplishment cannot be made without a challenge. Without challenges, one becomes complacent, so we must keep facing challenges to keep us mentally and physically strong. Goodwin encourages readers to challenge themselves more to help them delve deeper into who they are. For more, check out these essays about life challenges .

“Every human being has been in this place at one time or another. Sometimes depression can make it more difficult to get away from the edge but any spark of light or encouragement should be used to seek help physically, emotionally or spiritually. When we face a crisis, it effects the all of who we are and thus must be met with our total beings.”

Rousseau reflects on overcoming adversity, recalling when she met with two former coworkers. They talked about their lives, families, and struggles during lunch. They could bond over their shared positive, confident mindset, allowing them to overcome challenges. Rousseau clarifies that if you put your mind to it, you can overcome anything and closes her essay with two of her poems about resilience. 

“Instead of running away from your emotions, lean into them and experience them fully. This transforms your fears and anxiety into empowering emotions. Let go of what you believe life owes you. It owes you nothing since you are the expression of life. Rise to your challenges armed with courage and an open mind. Remain confident that your experiences are serving your personal growth.”

Fahkry explains how to face challenges without stress and suffering. He reminds us that, first of all, we have free will, so we do not have to feel the way we do if we put our minds to it. We cannot change our reality once it is already there, so feeling sad or angry for prolonged periods is useless. If we change our mindsets for the better, we can overcome all adversity. Our fear and anxiety can be turned into confidence, empowerment, and courage. Check out these essays about competition .

4.  ​​ Life: full of challenges by Vaibhav Jain

“A person who has not encountered difficulties in life can never achieve success. Difficulties test the courage, patience, perseverance, and true character of a human being. Adversity and hardships make a person strong and ready to face the challenges of life with equanimity. There is no doubt that there can be no gain without pain. It is only when one toils and sweats it out that success is nourished and sustained.”

In his short essay, Jain writes about the wonders of life as well as its challenges. He likens life to a bed of roses, complete with painful thorns. In general, life is good, but adversity and challenges are prevalent. These two concepts seem different, but one cannot exist without the other. As with the previous essays, Jain explains that challenges make us stronger and help us feel successful and relieved: “there can be no gain without pain.” Without challenges, we take the better parts of life for granted; if we accept and overcome our struggles, we can live life to the fullest.

“In conclusion, public educational institutions experience many challenges ranging from budgetary constraints, student violence and low parental involvement. Much research needs to be done to establish why these problems exist in the first place and lasting solutions for these institutions.”

Rios’ essay explores challenges in an education system; he proposes research on the constraints of the U.S. public school system. Public schools face several economic and social challenges, such as insufficient funding and lack of parental involvement due to many students’ working-class backgrounds. Rios wishes for more research on these problems and possible solutions. 

Writing Prompts On Essays about Challenges

In this essay, write about a challenge you previously encountered and how you dealt with it. Provide context by describing the events leading up to it, how it happened, and, most importantly, how you overcame it. Then, describe how you felt after- were you relieved, stressed, or tired? You can also discuss how this experience has affected you today. 

Challenges can teach us a lot about life and the world. Reflect on a challenge you faced previously and what you learned from it, whether positive or negative. As with the previous prompt, feel free to include ways in which the lesson you learned affects you today. 

How can you best handle the challenges you may face? Describe the ideal attitude one would need to overcome complex challenges. For example, what qualities would you need to have- courage, prudence, or sensibility? Regardless of what type of attitude you choose to write about, your essay will be substantive if you can adequately support your argument. 

In your essay, you can write about a time you were able to help someone facing a challenge. Who did you help- a friend, family member, or someone else? Then, write about how you helped them, how it made you feel, and how it has impacted your life. 

Research one particular challenge your country is facing today, whether that be an economic, social, or political issue. Discuss how this challenge occurred and what began the difficulties. If applicable, include multiple viewpoints on the issue and include information from credible sources. You can also propose possible solutions to this issue. 

Humanity faces challenges on a massive scale, from a climate change crisis to possible third world war to a global pandemic. Choose one challenge the world faces today and write your essay about it. As with the previous prompt, write about the causes and responses to this challenge, and feel free to propose a solution. 

Check out our guide packed full of transition words for essays .

ProWritingAid is one of our top grammar checkers. Find out why in this ProWritingAid review .

Martin is an avid writer specializing in editing and proofreading. He also enjoys literary analysis and writing about food and travel.

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Your chance of acceptance, your chancing factors, extracurriculars, writing an essay about academic challenges.

I have to write a college essay about overcoming academic challenges, but I'm struggling to come up with ideas. Have any of you written on this topic before? What kind of challenges did you discuss? Looking for some inspiration!

I'm glad you're looking for inspiration! The topic of overcoming academic challenges can make for a compelling essay, showcasing your resilience and determination. Here are a few ideas to get you started:

1. Adjusting to rigorous coursework or increased workload: Discuss how you tackled a significant increase in academic rigor, such as enrolling in challenging AP or IB courses, or adjusting to the workload at a competitive high school. Focus on the strategies you employed to succeed, such as improved time management, seeking help from teachers, or forming study groups.

2. Overcoming a learning disability or difficulty: If you've been diagnosed with a learning disability or struggled with a specific subject, this can be a powerful topic. Describe the challenges you faced and the support systems or resources you utilized to improve, such as working with a tutor, implementing coping mechanisms, or seeking accommodations.

3. Balancing academics with extracurricular activities or a part-time job: Write about how you managed to excel in school while also dedicating time to non-academic pursuits, demonstrating your strong work ethic and ability to multitask.

4. Coping with personal or family circumstances that impacted your academics: If you faced external challenges that affected your academic performance, such as a personal or family situation, discuss how you persevered and maintained your academic focus.

5. Adapting to a new school or educational system: If you've transitioned between different schools or educational systems, reflect on the academic adjustments you had to make and how you worked to adapt and succeed in your new environment.

When writing your essay, ensure that your narrative is personal and genuine. It should highlight not only the challenges you faced but also the actions you took to overcome them, illustrating your growth and resilience as a student. Good luck with your essay!

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The Power of Destiny: A Summary of Ralph Waldo Emerson’s ‘Fate’

• Ralph Waldo Emerson

Ralph Waldo Emerson’s essay “Fate” explores the concept of destiny and its power over human life. In this article, we will provide a summary of Emerson’s ideas on fate and how it influences our lives. Through his philosophical musings, Emerson encourages readers to embrace the power of destiny and use it to their advantage.

The Power of Destiny: A Summary of Ralph Waldo Emerson’s ‘Fate’

Ralph Waldo Emerson’s essay “Fate” explores the concept of destiny and its role in shaping human lives. According to Emerson, fate is not a predetermined path that individuals must follow, but rather a force that individuals can harness to achieve their goals. He argues that individuals have the power to shape their own destiny through their thoughts and actions. However, he also acknowledges that there are external forces beyond our control that can influence our lives. Ultimately, Emerson encourages individuals to embrace their fate and use it as a tool for personal growth and self-discovery.

Emerson’s Definition of Fate

Emerson’s definition of fate is a complex and nuanced one. He argues that fate is not simply a predetermined outcome that we have no control over. Instead, he suggests that fate is a force that we can work with and shape to our advantage. According to Emerson, fate is a combination of our own actions and the larger forces of the universe. We are not simply passive recipients of fate, but active participants in shaping our own destiny. This idea is both empowering and challenging, as it requires us to take responsibility for our own lives and to work hard to achieve our goals. Ultimately, Emerson’s definition of fate is a call to action, urging us to take control of our lives and to strive for greatness.

The Role of Fate in Human Life

Fate has been a topic of discussion for centuries, with many people believing that it plays a significant role in human life. Ralph Waldo Emerson’s essay “Fate” explores this idea, arguing that fate is not something that controls us, but rather something that we can use to our advantage. According to Emerson, fate is not a force that we must submit to, but rather a power that we can harness to achieve our goals. He believes that we have the ability to shape our own destiny, and that we should not be afraid to take risks and pursue our dreams. While fate may play a role in our lives, it is ultimately up to us to determine our own path and create our own future.

Fate and Free Will

In his essay “Fate,” Ralph Waldo Emerson explores the concept of fate and free will. He argues that while fate may seem to control our lives, we still have the power to shape our own destiny through our choices and actions. Emerson believes that we should not be passive in the face of fate, but rather take an active role in shaping our lives. He writes, “Fate is nothing but the deeds committed in a prior state of existence.” This suggests that our past actions and choices have a direct impact on our present and future. Ultimately, Emerson encourages us to embrace our free will and use it to create the life we desire.

The Importance of Self-Reliance

Self-reliance is a crucial aspect of achieving one’s destiny, as emphasized by Ralph Waldo Emerson in his essay “Fate.” According to Emerson, relying on external factors such as society, tradition, or even luck can hinder an individual’s growth and potential. Instead, he advocates for individuals to trust their own instincts and abilities, and to take responsibility for their own lives. By doing so, one can break free from the constraints of fate and create their own destiny. Emerson’s message of self-reliance is a timeless reminder that we have the power to shape our own lives, and that our success ultimately depends on our own actions and choices.

The Influence of Society on Fate

Ralph Waldo Emerson’s essay “Fate” explores the idea that society has a significant influence on an individual’s fate. He argues that society’s expectations and norms can limit a person’s potential and steer them towards a predetermined path. Emerson believes that individuals should break free from societal constraints and follow their own path to achieve true success and fulfillment. He writes, “The eye is the first circle; the horizon which it forms is the second; and throughout nature this primary figure is repeated without end.The world is emblematic. Parts of speech are metaphors because the whole of nature is a metaphor of the human mind.” In other words, society’s expectations are just a metaphor for what individuals can achieve if they break free from them. Emerson’s essay encourages readers to question the influence of society on their fate and to strive for individuality and self-determination.

Fate and the Law of Compensation

In his essay “Fate,” Ralph Waldo Emerson explores the concept of destiny and its relationship to the law of compensation. According to Emerson, fate is not a predetermined path that we must follow, but rather a force that we can shape through our own actions and choices. He argues that the law of compensation ensures that we are always rewarded or punished for our deeds, whether in this life or the next. This means that we have the power to create our own destiny by making wise choices and living virtuously. However, Emerson also acknowledges that there are forces beyond our control that can influence our fate, such as the actions of others or natural disasters. Ultimately, he suggests that we should embrace the mystery of fate and trust in its wisdom, even when we cannot fully understand it.

The Relationship Between Fate and Providence

In Ralph Waldo Emerson’s essay “Fate,” he explores the relationship between fate and providence. While fate is often seen as an uncontrollable force that determines the course of our lives, providence is the belief that a higher power is guiding us towards a greater purpose. Emerson argues that these two concepts are not mutually exclusive, but rather work together to shape our lives. He suggests that while we may not have control over the events that happen to us, we do have control over how we respond to them. By embracing providence and trusting in a higher power, we can find meaning and purpose in even the most difficult of circumstances. Ultimately, Emerson’s essay reminds us that while fate may be powerful, it is not all-encompassing, and that we have the ability to shape our own destinies through our actions and beliefs.

The Limitations of Human Understanding of Fate

Despite our best efforts, humans are limited in their understanding of fate. While we may try to predict and control our future, there are always unforeseen circumstances that can alter our path. Ralph Waldo Emerson argues that fate is a force beyond our comprehension, and that we must accept its power and influence in our lives. He suggests that we should not try to resist or manipulate fate, but rather embrace it and trust that it will lead us to our ultimate destiny. However, this acceptance of fate does not mean that we should be passive or resigned to our circumstances. Instead, we should strive to make the most of our opportunities and use our free will to shape our lives in a positive direction. Ultimately, the limitations of human understanding of fate remind us of the importance of humility and acceptance in the face of the unknown.

Fate and the Concept of Unity

In his essay “Fate,” Ralph Waldo Emerson explores the concept of unity and its relationship to destiny. He argues that everything in the universe is interconnected and that our individual fates are ultimately tied to the fate of the whole. This idea of unity is central to Emerson’s philosophy, and he believes that it is through recognizing our interconnectedness that we can come to understand the power of destiny. By accepting our place in the larger scheme of things, we can find peace and purpose in our lives, even in the face of adversity. Ultimately, Emerson suggests that fate is not something to be feared or resisted, but rather something to be embraced as a natural part of the universe’s unfolding.

The Connection Between Fate and Nature

In Ralph Waldo Emerson’s essay “Fate,” he explores the connection between fate and nature. He argues that nature is a manifestation of fate and that everything in the natural world is predetermined. Emerson believes that humans are also subject to this predetermined fate and that our actions are simply a result of the forces of nature acting upon us. He suggests that we should embrace this idea of fate and accept our place in the natural world, rather than trying to resist it. By doing so, we can find peace and fulfillment in our lives. Emerson’s ideas about the connection between fate and nature are thought-provoking and offer a unique perspective on the role of humans in the world.

The Idea of Predestination in Emerson’s ‘Fate’

In his essay “Fate,” Ralph Waldo Emerson explores the idea of predestination and its role in shaping human lives. He argues that while some may believe in a predetermined fate, it is ultimately up to the individual to shape their own destiny through their actions and choices. Emerson suggests that the concept of predestination can be limiting and can prevent individuals from taking responsibility for their own lives. He encourages readers to embrace their own agency and to strive towards their own goals, rather than resigning themselves to a predetermined fate. Through his exploration of predestination, Emerson challenges readers to consider the power of their own choices and the impact they can have on their lives.

The Role of Intuition in Understanding Fate

Intuition plays a crucial role in understanding fate, according to Ralph Waldo Emerson’s essay “Fate.” He argues that intuition is a higher form of knowledge that allows us to see beyond the limitations of our senses and reason. Intuition allows us to tap into the universal mind and understand the interconnectedness of all things. This understanding of fate is not fatalistic, but rather empowering, as it allows us to see that we have a role to play in shaping our destiny. By trusting our intuition and following our inner guidance, we can align ourselves with the forces of fate and fulfill our highest potential.

The Paradoxes of Fate

The Paradoxes of Fate are a central theme in Ralph Waldo Emerson’s essay “Fate.” Emerson argues that fate is both a force that controls our lives and a power that we can harness to achieve our goals. He suggests that we must accept the inevitability of fate while also striving to shape our own destiny. This paradoxical nature of fate is both empowering and daunting, as it forces us to confront the limits of our own agency and the vastness of the universe’s power. Ultimately, Emerson’s essay challenges us to embrace the paradoxes of fate and to find meaning and purpose in the midst of life’s uncertainties.

The Relationship Between Fate and the Individual

In his essay “Fate,” Ralph Waldo Emerson explores the relationship between fate and the individual. He argues that while fate may seem to control our lives, it is ultimately up to the individual to shape their own destiny. Emerson believes that we have the power to choose our own path in life, and that our actions and decisions can ultimately determine our fate. However, he also acknowledges that there are certain external factors that can influence our lives, such as societal norms and cultural expectations. Despite these external pressures, Emerson encourages individuals to take control of their own lives and to not be afraid to forge their own path. Ultimately, he believes that it is through our own actions and choices that we can shape our destiny and fulfill our potential.

Fate and the Search for Meaning in Life

In his essay “Fate,” Ralph Waldo Emerson explores the concept of destiny and its role in shaping our lives. He argues that fate is not something that is predetermined or fixed, but rather something that we create through our own actions and choices. According to Emerson, we are not passive recipients of fate, but active participants in its creation.

Emerson also suggests that the search for meaning in life is closely tied to our understanding of fate. He writes, “The search after the great men is the dream of youth and the most serious occupation of manhood.” In other words, our quest for purpose and significance is often driven by our desire to understand our place in the grand scheme of things.

However, Emerson cautions against becoming too preoccupied with the idea of fate. He warns that “the belief in a fate overpowers us, in a manner as our own personality.” In other words, if we become too fixated on the idea that our lives are predetermined, we may lose sight of our own agency and ability to shape our destiny.

Ultimately, Emerson’s essay encourages us to embrace the power of destiny while also recognizing our own role in shaping it. By doing so, we can find meaning and purpose in our lives while also remaining grounded in the present moment.

The Relevance of Emerson’s ‘Fate’ Today

In today’s world, where we are constantly bombarded with news of natural disasters, political upheavals, and economic crises, it is easy to feel overwhelmed and powerless. However, Ralph Waldo Emerson’s essay “Fate” reminds us that we are not mere pawns in the hands of fate, but active participants in shaping our own destiny. Emerson argues that we have the power to transcend our circumstances and create our own reality through our thoughts and actions. This message is particularly relevant today, as we face unprecedented challenges and uncertainties. By embracing the power of our own agency, we can find hope and inspiration in the face of adversity and chart a course towards a brighter future.

An Essay On Fate

by Sam Raudins • September 18, 2017

Fate is contradictory; either you’re told that you must decide your own, or someone will sigh, bat their eyelashes dramatically at you and say, “It was fate.” Ultimately, who is it that decides? Are we to accept that there is a semi-controllable force directing our lives? You could say it was fate that you ended up in the same elevator as the cute guy from work, but you could also argue that your inner drive pushed you to it. Which is it?   

It’s both.  

Fate is the collection of every decision you’ve ever made. What you’ve been told about choosing your destiny is essentially true. It’s controlled by your choices. These choices could be as simple as going right instead of left at a stop sign, or as momentous as quitting your job. The difference is that each one leads you to a new realm: a place of hundreds of different choices, people, and things that you never would have experienced had you chosen otherwise. Your fate is controlled by your collective decisions, the history of all of your choices, each influenced by another. It’s a prophetic butterfly effect, influencing not only your future, but everyone else’s.   

Fate is tricky that way. What makes it only semi-controllable is that one person cannot dictate the choices on every other human being on Earth, and that collective is a much larger force to be reckoned with. But that influences you, too. Every decision the people you’ve merely passed on the street led up to that very moment with you; not a minute earlier, not a second later. The people that have come into your life have made a series of choices that pointed them to you. Their choices years ago impacted you then. But not really, because you never knew it. Maybe you never would have met your best friend in college if she hadn’t decided to cut through the recreation center that day. Perhaps your parents would have never met if your mother had taken that other job instead. You would’ve never met your boyfriend if his parents hadn’t divorced, causing him to move in next door. It’s when other people’s collectives collide with your own that you cross paths, and that’s based on thousands of intricate decisions before you.   

The key it utilizing it. In a sense, you are carving out your own fate, but only at the mercy of all of the decisions since the beginning of time. This makes moments that much more valuable, and that much more of a loss if they are passed over. In a single moment, hundreds of thousands of choices that aren’t even yours are converging, and it’s up to you to choose how to take advantage of it. Your fateful decision in that moment resonates like ripples in a pond, pulsing to the edges of the collective consciousness.   

The next time you’re asked if you believe in fate, the answer has to be yes. Part of it is yours to influence. The second half of your answer would have to be based on your faith in the rest of humanity’s ability to choose.   

Author: Sam Raudins Email:  [email protected] Author Bio: Sam is a journalism major at Ohio State who lives for football and good iced chai lattes. She runs her own blog, and writes for The Lantern and the Odyssey. Soon, she will be starting a football column by a woman for women at the Ohio State chapter of Her Campus. Link to social media or website:  http://theinternalmonologue.weebly.com  

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Challenging Fate

I NEED AN OPENING STATEMENT on essay: challenging fate

SMontes10 2 / 1   Sep 28, 2007   #1 I need suggestions for an opening statement, leading in as a broad statement, for an essay that has this topic: Write an essay about what happens when someone tries to challenge or interfere with his or her fate.

EF_Team2 1 / 1,708   Sep 28, 2007   #2 Greetings! I'm wondering whether your essay holds, as an underlying assumption, the idea that one's fate is already decided? If it is, then obviously, whatever we do cannot change it. That would affect the way you would write the opening. Or perhaps your essay intends to explore the issue of whether our fate is pre-ordained, and arrive at the conclusion that it is not? At any rate, I can propose a possible opening for you: We would all like to believe that the world is one of infinite possibilities, but this may be an illusion: perhaps our fate was decided from the moment we were born, reducing those infinite possibilities down to only one available path. What happens, then, if a person finds a way to jump off the path? I hope this gives you some ideas to help get you started! Thanks, Sarah, EssayForum.com

OP SMontes10 2 / 1   Oct 1, 2007   #3 Thank you Sarah. The idea that "our fate cannot be changed and what happens when we try to change it" is the main idea of the essay. You were a great help. Thanks again.

Race and Ethnicity

Do you believe in fate, fate or luck or higher power or just a wonderful happening.

Posted May 5, 2014

Many of the columns I write are taken from real life situations; whether it’s a client struggling with an addiction /recovery issue of their loved one, something that has popped up in my own life or a current event that catches my attention .

So why did the concept of fate grab my attention so thoroughly that I put aside the other column I was working on and opted to pursue this one?

Two days ago in the Kentucky Derby a 3 year old colt named California Chrome won that coveted title. The back story is amazing and for those whom are not familiar with it, it goes like this.

Briefly, two men that were not really entrenched in the world of horse racing partnered up and bought a mare for $8,000. She had only won one race and seemed to have a decent lineage, but the owners were glad to unload her for any amount of money. The new owners (which were being called Dumbass for making such a foolish purchase) paid a stud fee for about $1500.00 and behold a colt was born from this union. A big chestnut boy with a lovely white blaze (hence the word ‘Chrome’) was gently and lovingly raised in California until he was old enough to start to strut his stuff on the race course.

After win after win, California Chrome made his debut at the Kentucky Derby and took home the Mint Julep purse of 2 million dollars and the admiration of horse lovers, trainers and owners from all over the world. Though this would be enough to bring tears to the eye of anyone that champions the odds for victory in this “Rocky” type story, it doesn’t end here. The trainer of this beloved beast is a man that is 77 years old and waited 59 years to stand in the winner’s circle! (Sniff, sniff…I just love this stuff)

So, is this fate or luck? Is this a higher power intervention to have all the right elements come to together for such a Cinderella horse story to come true?

Luck reminds me of a roulette table and eventually runs out. So, I rule that out. I’ve become very comfortable being a strong believer in fate and such parallels a belief in a higher power. I think that major events in our life our predestined. I’m not talking about little every day occurrences, but I believe fate plays a role in mapping out the large challenges or fabulous victories in the road we travel. We have all heard stories about someone not wanting to go to this party or that event only to have found their future spouse or have an incident occur that might not have happened….good or bad.

I believe fate fingers certain folks to be destined to contribute to society above and beyond others through their intellect, drive, art, or just happenstance.

So let’s look at why I think believing in fate is comforting:

• It takes the pressure or burden off of us to always have the right answer, do the right thing.

• It takes us out of the driver’s seat and therefore relinquishes control.

• If we suit up and show up every day and take life as it’s presented, we can trust that things will unfold as they are meant to, even if it tears our heart apart.

• What’s meant to be will be and though frustrating, sad or even devastatingly difficult, it is what it is.

In the lovely saga of California Chrome, one of the owners stated that even before the colt was born he had a dream that he was going to run and win in the Kentucky Derby. He goes on to say that if one wants their dream badly enough then it will happen. Though warm and fuzzy to believe, I don’t buy that theory. There are many, many people that work very hard and dream about succeeding in their goals , but don’t. This is where I believe that fate either does or does not have a hand in the outcome regardless of our tireless efforts. If it’s in the blue print, then we are victorious, if not, then we just keep on ‘truckin’.

As I write this, I’m hoping that there is enough of a commonality between this wonderful inspirational, almost miraculous tale of lots of elements coming together to culminate in a spiritual , financial and amazingly emotional success and suggestion that fate was an important factor in making it all happen.

If we can wake up and tell ourselves that today is a new day and we will participate as best we can and accept whatever the fates may bring then we are as victorious as that adorable 3 year old colt and his amazing, believing owners and trainer!

If I can be of service, please visit my website www.familyrecoverysolutions.com or call (805) 695-0049. In addition, I invite you to explore my book Reclaim Your Life – You and the Alcoholic /Addict at www.reclaimyourlifebook.com , PayPal or on Amazon. In addition, my book is available as an audio on my website only.

Carole Bennett, M.A. , is a family substance abuse counselor, lecturer, columnist and author based at her Family Recovery Solutions Counseling Center in Santa Barbara, CA.

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Challenging Fate: Untangling the Knots of Family Dysfunction

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From the moment the weird sisters tell Macbeth and Banquo their prophecies, both the characters and the audience are forced to wonder about fate. Is it real? Is action necessary to make it come to pass, or will the prophecy come true no matter what one does? Different characters answer these questions in different ways at different times, and the final answers are ambiguous—as fate always is.

Unlike Banquo, Macbeth acts: he kills Duncan . Macbeth tries to master fate, to make fate conform to exactly what he wants. But, of course, fate doesn't work that way. By trying to master fate once, Macbeth puts himself in the position of having to master fate always. At every instant, he has to struggle against those parts of the witches' prophecies that don't favor him. Ultimately, Macbeth becomes so obsessed with his fate that he becomes delusional: he becomes unable to see the half-truths behind the witches' prophecies. By trying to master fate, he brings himself to ruin.

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‘Students tested with challenging English paper’: Reaction to day two of Junior Cycle and Leaving Cert exams

Leaving certs had engineering and english paper two, while it was irish and geography for junior cycle.

Day two of the Junior Cycle and Leaving Cert exams is over. Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill

* Leaving Cert students sat Engineering at 9.30am and English paper two at 2pm, which had some challenging questions

* Junior Cycle students had Irish at 9.30am, which was “welcomed with open arms”, and geography , a “fair and well-received paper” at 1.30pm

* “ It wa s always bound to be the most stressful of all... the questions were quite odd ”: Our student diarist Daksh Wadhwa is glad to see the back of English paper two

* ‘ Help them focus on the next challenge ’: Exam survival guide for parents by Brian Mooney

Day three of the State exams begins tomorrow. Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill

That’s a wrap...

Our live State exams live blog is wrapping up for the evening.

We hope today’s papers went well -- and remember, even if they didn’t, pretty much everyone else is in the same boat.

The so-called bell curve for marking exams means there is always a similar proportion of H1s, H2s, etc, each year.

This means the “easier” exams tend to be marked harder, while “harder” exams tend to be marked a little easier.

Up tomorrow for Leaving Cert students is geography (9.30 am) and maths paper one (2pm).

For Junior Cycle students, it’s history (9.30 am) and maths (1.30 pm)

We’ve compiled some last-minute tips for Leaving Cert students, below, for tackling tomorrow’s exams.

And we’ve more subject-by-subject advice here.

Good luck -- and try to get a good night’s sleep !

Last-minute tips: Leaving Cert geography

Tips by Lesley Aslin, geography teacher at The Institute of Education

• Timing is a challenge in the geography exam. Be strict, allocate a set time to each question, then leave it and move on to the next one. A part answer is better than no answer. Aim to start all the required questions rather than miss an entire one.
• Carefully read each question, and highlight the key words in it. Remember, you need 15 SRPs (significant relevant points) for each 30-mark question. Define the key term in the question and include your examples early on in your answer, eg, name of feature/locations. Keep your points concise, there is no room for waffle. If the question has a number in it, split your SRPs accordingly. For instance, if you are asked to “describe and explain the formation of two igneous rocks”, you need 7-8 SRPs for each rock.
• Make sure your answer is balanced. While it’s difficult to predict what will come up in the exam, some common topics do tend to reoccur in physical geography. Questions are frequently asked about a landform of erosion/deposition, and human interaction with the rock cycle/surface processes. Be sure to study for these.

Last-minute tips: Leaving Cert maths paper one

Tips from Stephen Begley,  Studyclix.ie  subject expert and maths teacher at Dundalk Grammar School

• Practise past paper questions topic by topic. This way, you’ll see the similarities across years and get used to the keywords guiding a question. Algebra, functions and differentiation always dominate paper one, so mastering these across the next two weeks will stand to you in both sections A and B.
• Know what is in your log tables, particularly with differentiation and integration: make a list of formulas that aren’t in the tables and learn them. Know your calculator inside out: how to graph functions, where to find buttons such as pi, factorial and choosing.
• Familiarise yourself with the topics that are likely to come up. It’s hard to predict the exact questions on paper one, but regular suspects of algebra, complex numbers, differentiation, and integration would be expected across the short questions in section A, while functions, logs, calculus and financial maths are good bases to cover for the long questions in section B.

Daksh Wadhwa (16), Leaving Cert student at Stepaside Educate Together Secondary School. Photograph: Fran Veale

‘English paper two was always bound to be the most stressful of all... the questions were quite odd’

Daksh Wadhwa (16), a student at Stepaside Educate Together Secondary School, is one of our Leaving Cert exam diarists.

He says he is happy to have English paper two over and done with after fielding a number of curveball questions.

The question on Slyvia Plath, who is a poet that many young people really like and relate to, was “disappointing”.

“We were asked about how the dramatic imagery we encounter in Plath’s poetry reveals her to be an insightful social commentator, but this is so different from what we looked at in school,” he says.

The questions on Hamlet were also quite “odd”, he said, especially the second option.

“This asked us to discuss the aspects of Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, that make it a surprisingly positive and hopeful drama,” he says.

“It was only when I was ten minutes into answering this that I realised how hard it was. I could feel my heart thumping as this realisation dawned on me, and I was briefly panicked that I had wasted ten minutes of precious time in an exam that requires huge amounts of writing.”

Your can read more of Daksh’s exam diary here .

Exam Students (from left) Sophie Graham, Lucy Bolger, Jenny Murphy and Lucy Phillips from Rathdown School, Glenageary Rodd following English paper two. Photograph: Nick Bradshaw

Leaving Cert English paper two: tough Hamlet and Plath questions cause some consternation

My colleague Peter McGuire has filed a more detailed reaction piece to English paper two.

You can read it here .

The consensus among teachers seems to be that that while there may have been initial euphoria over the appearance of much anticipated poets, much of this will have faded given the challenging nature of some questions.

Leaving cert students Daniel Sidorkin, Logan Mallon and Alex Raynor at Trinity Comprehensive School, Ballymun, Dublin. Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill

Leaving Cert English paper two: A hard ‘slog’ with some disquieting questions

Many students felt a wave of relief after predicted poets appeared, but they were tested by some “disquieting questions” on English paper two.

Clodagh Havel, English teacher at The Institute of Education, said the long-speculated poets Yeats, Ni Chuilleanain, Dickinson, Plath and Heaney appeared.

However, on closer scrutiny, she said the initial euphoria will have faded for many.

“While the Heaney and Dickinson questions were typical of the previous examples and the Yeats question demanded a manageably high-brow approach to his work, the Plath question would have worried students,” she said.

The guide quote for the question asked students to assess Plath as a “social commentator”, which Havel said was a direct contradiction of what most students prepared.

“Braver students will have challenged the claim, but in a high stress environment many won’t want to take the risk at this final high stakes hurdle. There were of course other options but this section, and this paper on the whole, will have forced students to make choices they did not want to make,” she said.

Many students may also have been disquieted by the Hamlet questions.

She said students who prepared the role of women in the play will have been relieved to see Gertrude appear, but might be frustrated by the initial narrow scope of the question as Ophelia was omitted.

“Yet students willing to dig deep will have found that the questions mention of ‘core issues’ will be an avenue to broader discussions. Nevertheless, students will have had to fight to keep their analysis on track, having their work cut out for them in order to keep those topic sentences purposeful,” she said.

“The second question describes the play of the notoriously melancholic prince as ‘surprisingly positive and hopeful’, with surprising being the operative word for all involved. In 2017 it was a ‘disturbing psychological thriller’, which was an approach taken by teachers everywhere. An ardent and argumentative student could make this work but likely felt it was untethered to their previous two years of study.”

Regardless of which question they chose, Havel said most students will have been able to fill the time with meaningful, informed discussion but few will feel truly triumphant.

“However, any lingering sense of being unsure is not a sign of a poor student but rather is a reasonable response to a paper that often asked students to go against the grain,” she said.

By contrast, the centre of the paper was very manageable, she said.

“The unseen poem was a brilliant display of continuous metaphor with some poignant moments reminiscent of yesterday’s theme. The questions were clear and uncontentious – love it,” she said.

Comparative can be tricky given that some questions simply don’t fit with some texts due to the volume of different material.

Thankfully, she said, the presence of all three modes meant that students could navigate by their strengths.

“But careful reading was essential, as careless haste could cause some to misread “selfless” and drift perilously off course,” she said.

“This paper wasn’t the resounding sigh of relief everyone hopes for but had lots of opportunities to earn marks laying just beyond those first impressions. Yet those first impressions matter, and students will likely have felt many moments to be a slog across the finish line.”

Laura Daly, an English teacher at St Benildus College, Co Dublin and Studyclix subject expert, agreed that it was challenging in parts.

With the majority of students around the country choosing Shakespeare’s Hamlet, she said the appearance of a question on Hamlet’s relationship with Gertrude was a welcome sight, as it was highly anticipated the role of women would be examined.

“If read analytically by students, they would have realised the question also required the exploration of multiple themes, a lovely question. Although some may have lamented the omission of Ophelia,” she said.

The second question was extremely broad but deceptively challenging, Daly said.

“The wording afforded students opportunities to explore a multitude of areas in terms of what they found ‘inspiring and hopeful’, yet the play is filled with corruption and death so perhaps more challenging than first perceived,” she said.

In poetry, she said the appearance of Heaney, Yeats and Ni Chuilleanain and Plath will have been weclomed by students.

Notable by their absence were the two pre-1900s poets Donne and Hopkins, she said.

“Donne has appeared in recent years, but Hopkins has not appeared in over a decade and it was thought he would be on the paper today,” she said. “None of the language of the questions offered any real difficulties for the students.”

The comparative followed previous years in that all three modes for this year were on the paper as per the adjustments, she said.

“Of all three modes, the theme or issue questions, often touted as the easiest, held the most challenge. The focus was extremely narrow calling for students to examine ‘an interesting interaction’ in the 30 40 marker. The 70 mark question in this mode would also have caused some challenges. Students who had studied more than one mode would have fared well here to have had a choice,” she said,

The unseen poem - ‘Building my Grandfather’ - was “lovely” with accessible language and themes that would resonate with students.

Junior Cycle students from James Casey, Arron Flynn and Aaron Casey at Trinity Comprehensive School, Ballymun, Dublin. Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill

Junior Cycle geography: “Fair and well-received’

This year’s Junior Cycle geography paper was a fair one, according to Stephen Doyle, a teacher at Moyle Park College, Dublin, and subject expert with Studyclix .

“There were no major surprises... Each question contained a mixture of short answer questions to start then paragraph style answers in which students must give more detailed insight, displaying their knowledge of a specific topic,” he said.

Map work, in particular, played a big part in today’s exam.

“Map work and skills-based questions such as OS maps, aerial photographs, graphs and tables featured heavily in this year’s exam. There were a total of five questions in this year’s geography exam that contained map work. So, if you were not prepared for mapwork this exam would have been challenging,” he said.

“Surprisingly there were no questions on Volcanic activity but rather this year focused on Earthquakes and their effects. There was also no question on any rock formation which also may have caught students off guard. There were a lot of questions that combined different elements of the course such as landslides and coastal erosion.”

Overall, Mr Doyle said this was a “fair and current paper that would have been well received by students.”

Preparing for start of the Junior Cycle exams in Marian College, Ballsbridge, Dublin. Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill

Junior Cycle Irish: Some tricky words on otherwise straightforward papers

My colleague Peter McGuire has filed a more detailed reaction piece on the Junior Cycle Irish papers.

You can read it here , with links to the exam papers themsevles.

Overall, teachers say students were mostly relieved with straightforward higher and ordinary level papers..

Linda Dolan, Studyclix.ie subject representative and a teacher at Mercy College Sligo, said the cluastuiscint (listening comprehension) and the léamhthuiscint (reading comprehension) on the T2 higher level paper , which is sat by students in English-medium schools, offered straightforward and student-friendly questions.

Rita Donnellan, a teacher at Ratoath College in Meath and subject representative for the Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI), said that the listening comprehension was fair.

“A few words may have tripped some students up, but overall it was balanced,” she said.

“The questions on the novel, drama, song or poem included common topics that come up regularly. Some may have struggled with some phrasing, but if they could pick out keywords, they could manage the literature questions.”

Both Ms Dolan and Ms Donnellan said the ordinary T2 level papers were fair, although Ms Donnellan said a question about inviting friends to see the actor Paul Mescal may have been challenging for some.

Commenting on the T1 higher level paper , which is sat by students in the Gaeltacht and in Irish-medium schools, teachers said it contained “appropriately pitched and student-friendly” language, and was happily received by students.

Plath? Heaney? Hopkins?

The annual sport of what’s going to appear in English paper two has been in full flow.

Every year there are eight prescribed poets. Five are due to appear in today’s paper. Candidates have to do one.

Tiktok is convinced that the smart money is on Sylvia Plath.

But then, a friend of a friend heard that Heaney is a sure thing this year.

A teacher down the road also says Ní Chuilleanáin is overdue an appearance.

Either way, we’ll know for sure shortly...

@mcandrewbooks Save this video if you are a 2024 LC English student! In this video from the @rteradio1 Study Hub Podcast, Clodagh Havel is discussing her 2024 Leaving Cert Predictions. We are also delighted to announce that Clodagh will be launching a new book with us after the Easter break, adding to our Vital Leaving Cert Guidebook series! Keep an eye on our TikTok to stay in the loop about all the material coming to McAndrew Books over the Easter Holidays. #lc2024 #leavingcert2024 #rte #rtestudyhub #lcprediction #lcpredictions #english #englishteacher #finalyearstudent #student #studentlife #study #studytok #studyguide #studyguides ♬ original sound - McAndrew Books - McAndrew Books

@notlucypittman In Plath we Pray 📿 #leavingcert2024 #lc2024🐐 ♬ escuchalaspalabrasdelasbrujaslossecretosescondidos - soapysopasoup 🫧

@kirstymylesx Or Heaney…. #leavingcert2024 #sylviaplath #plath ♬ would i lie to you - DNSTY

@flaheywaheydooda if ni chuilleanain or plath dont come up ive given away my good notes for nothing im begging #leavingcert2024 #englishpaper2 ♬ Affirmation Baddies x LuckyGirl - Affirmations for Women

Junior Cycle students James Casey, Arron Flynn and Aaron Casey, after their exams at Trinity Comprehensive School, Ballymun, Dublin. Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill

Junior Cycle Irish reaction: ‘It was welcomed with open arms’

Most students were “happy and relieved” with their Junior Cycle Irish exams this morning, according to teachers.

Students faced T2 Irish exams (for English-medium schools) and T1 (for Gaeltacht and Irish-medium schools).

Linda Dolan, an Irish teacher at Mercy College, Sligo and subject expert for Studyclix, said the T2 higher level paper was welcomed with open arms by students.

“Both the Cluastuiscint (listening comprehension) and the Léamhthuiscint (reading comprehension) offered straightforward and student-friendly questions. Ceist 5 presented a choice between an úrscéal (novel) and a dráma, similar to what was seen in last year’s paper,” she said.

“The Ceadapóireacht (composition) component provided two lovely options -describe a holiday abroad (also seen on last year’s paper) or in the Gaeltacht and describe a picnic or a day with friends. The final section, based on poetry, offered students two undemanding questions on the theme and the title. Students and teachers alike undoubtedly would have been happy and greatly relieved to receive this paper today.”

The T1 higher level paper was also “very straightforward and happily received by students”, she said.

“The language used in the questions was student-friendly and appropriately pitched for their level of Gaeilge. Poetry appeared in Q5 and then a choice was offered in Q7 between a drama or a novel.”

The T2 ordinary level paper, meanwhile, went off without a hitch.

“The language used was student-friendly and nothing different to what has been seen on past/ sample papers,” Ms Dolan said.

“The last Ceapadóireacht (composition) question invited students to describe a day mitching from school. This would have given them a great opportunity to utilise vocabulary that they learned over the past three years and also would have put a smile on their faces. Overall, this paper presented nothing out of the blue and gave everyone the chance to show-case their Irish.”

First look: Leaving Cert engineering papers

The Leaving Cert engineering papers - higher and ordinary - are now online. You can check them out below:

Leaving Cert engineering, higher level:

Leaving Cert engineering, ordinary level:

First look: Junior Cycle Irish exams

Irish for Junior Cycle is divided into a more challenging “T1″ exam for Gaeltacht and Irish-medium schools, and “T2″ for English-medium schools.

The T2 papers are now available online:

Junior Cycle Irish (T2) higher level

Junior Cycle Irish (T2) ordinary level

Joanna Donnelly, author of From Malin Head to Mizen Head, A Journey Around the Sea Area Forecast, pictured in Howth, Co. Dublin. Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill

Joanna Donnelly: ‘I read my chemistry book for fun on off-days’

With all this talk of exam weather, who better to ask about their Leaving Cert memories than Met Éireann’s Joanna Donnelly.

My colleague Jen Hogan spoke to her about her favourite and most challenging subjects.

We liked this tribute she paid to one of her teachers:

“Ms Johnson, my maths teacher, was and is a wonderful woman. She went above and beyond, taking time out of her free days to work with me and my classmate in honours maths to make sure we were prepared. She also took an interest in my welfare generally, looking beyond the academic and nurturing me as a person as well as a student.”

You can read the full piece here .

Leaving Cert students Sarah Daly, Kelsey Scully and Sophie Williams discuss their exams at Trinity Comprehensive School, Ballymun, Dublin. Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill

And they’re off... Day two of exams under way

Students were, by and large, happy leaving exam halls on Wednesday , although Junior Cycle students faced some challenging questions in their English paper .

For Leaving Certs facing into English paper two in the afternoon, we’ve some last-minute tips courtesy of Conor Murphy, an English teacher at Skibbereen Community College:

• Ignore poet predictions. The poetry question is worth 50 marks, the main text (usually Shakespeare) is 60 marks and the comparative 70. Keep this in mind when you study.
• Narrow down the quotes you are learning off. Instead of having hundreds for the main text, look for a quote that will work for numerous elements. Look at a quote like the famous “get thee to a nunnery”. How many elements can this be used for? Hamlet, Ophelia, treatment of women, lust. This is why the quote is so often (over) used. Use this exercise as a way of revising Hamlet.
• Similarly for the comparative, narrow down the scenes you are studying to scenes that can be used when talking about at least two of the comparative modes. Obviously these will include the opening and closing of the text. When you have these narrowed down, zoom in on specific elements (dialogue, images, stage directions). These are your specific pieces of evidence needed to illustrate your essays.
• In general, test yourself on the various aspects of the course. Pick a topic and write down what you know, under headings. Use this as a way of revising and finding out what you need to study.

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School abuse inquiry: survivors must wait to see report until after attorney general review, ‘time was the main challenge’: reaction to day three of leaving cert and junior cycle exams, leaving cert geography: topical paper that gave students a chance to shine, teaching staff at etb vote to strike in september if enforced transfer of member not revoked, claire byrne and mary lou mcdonald come unexpectedly close to a shouting match, molly martens is free to move on now, leaving behind a trail of nightmarish violence, winner of last week’s rté super garden competition dies, plans of holiday makers across europe in disarray after german travel company collapse, voting in the local and european elections: where to vote, who is on the ballot paper, and other tips, latest stories, european commission satisfied with initial ukraine eu membership reforms.

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What Sealed Trump’s Fate

I n H.G. Wells’ science-fiction classic The War of the Worlds , aliens from Mars invade Earth. The military resists, but human technology is no match for Martian tripods and death rays. Within weeks, the aliens have routed the defenders and seem poised to conquer the planet. And then, mysteriously, they die. It turns out they had no resistance to the ubiquitous bacteria of our world. They were slain, Wells writes, “after all man’s devices had failed, by the humblest things that God, in his wisdom, has put upon this earth.”

That’s what came to mind when I heard that a New York jury had convicted Donald Trump of 34 felonies. What seemed like an unstoppable force was brought low by the humblest of state laws. And while 34 felony convictions may in fact not stop Trump, the trial does tell us something important about the strengths and weaknesses of America’s constitutional structure.

Read More: Trump Is Now a Felon. What Voters Do With That Information Will Write This Era’s History

Back in 2016, some people hoped the Electoral College would stop Trump. Hamilton Electors , they were called. Didn’t happen. Then impeachment was going to do it, not once, but twice. Again, no dice. And finally, Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, written to protect us from oath-breaking insurrectionists, came riding to the rescue only to be rejected by a unanimous vote of the Supreme Court.

These attempts to stop Trump all had a couple of things in common. The first is that they used the tools that the Constitution gives us to prevent bad people from occupying the office of the President. These tools are the heavy artillery, the sophisticated devices painstakingly crafted to protect us from crooks, demagogues, and would-be tyrants. The second is that they all failed—ignominiously.

That’s not because they weren’t built correctly or designed for these circumstances. Historians and constitutional scholars who weighed in on Section 3 and the impeachment tended to agree that Trump presented exactly the threat they were to counter. (The Hamilton electors scheme was a bit more fringe, but some experts supported it too.) The problem is that safeguards built into the political system are only as good as the politicians who apply them. The Constitution is no better than the Court that interprets it. The black smoke of partisanship and self-interest (perhaps all too similar to Wells’ War of the Worlds ) only has to corrupt a few of the governing  elite for our constitutional defenses to fail.

Trump benefited from that failure, but he didn’t cause it. Our constitutional system did. The electoral college, gave us Trump as President even though nearly 3 million more Americans chose Hillary Clinton. The Senate didn’t just refuse to convict in the Trump impeachments; it blocked Obama’s nomination of Merrick Garland and gave us the Trump supermajority Supreme Court. And if you think the Supreme Court is a defender of democracy, think again. Our noble Senate, our hallowed Supreme Court, our sacred Constitution—none of these things protected us from Trump. On the whole, they enabled him.

The reason Trump was finally held accountable was not that he ran afoul of the special rules that govern the highest reaches of our political system, the sorts of things that ordinary Americans are not subject to. (Ordinary citizens, for example, don’t have to worry about impeachment, or section three, or faithless electors.) It was not that the enlightened members of our government stood up against him. It was, however, that he couldn’t handle the obligations that law-abiding citizens shoulder as a matter of course in their day-to-day lives. It was that 12 ordinary Americans in an unglamorous trial courtroom ruled that he had broken the laws that everyone else has to follow.

We often think of our system of governance as defined by things the Constitution creates, structures like the Senate, the Supreme Court, or the electoral college, and processes like impeachment. But the negative space matters too—and that is the background of state law. State law, not federal law or the Constitution, is the primary regulator for most Americans. State law creates the environment in which we all live; it is, you could say, in the air we breathe.

When campaigning for the Republican nomination in 2016, Trump said that he could shoot someone in the middle of Fifth Avenue and not lose any votes. Not for the shooting, maybe. But most people would go to jail for that, and it’s possible that 34 felony counts will drive home a point that some have missed. Most Americans are not involved in more than 4,000 lawsuits . They do not overstate their net worth, market questionable training programs as their own university , or run businesses that engage in tax fraud . That the most ordinary of laws finally caught up to Trump may drive home how distant the divide is between him and the regular Americans he claims to champion. State law that applies equally to all did what the special rules of the Constitution could not.

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Right wing TikTokers sue Biden admin, challenging TikTok action on First Amendment grounds: 'A ban on speech'

FIRST ON FOX – Right-leaning TikTok users filed a lawsuit Thursday challenging the law President Biden signed forcing a sale of TikTok , arguing it violates the First Amendment.

According to a press release obtained by FOX Business, the Liberty Justice Center filed the lawsuit on behalf of BASED Politics Inc., a nonprofit that publishes content about free markets and individual liberty on TikTok and other social media platforms, where its accounts have tens of thousands of followers and its videos have millions of views.

BASED Politics Inc. v. Garland, which was filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, urges the appeals court to declare the law unconstitutional and issue an order preventing U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland from enforcing it.

"The federal government's ban on TikTok is a ban on speech," Liberty Justice Center President Jacob Huebert said in the release. "The ban would eliminate a forum where millions of Americans express and hear important ideas. It violates the First Amendment, and the court should strike it down."

BIDEN ADMIN, TIKTOK ASK COURT TO FAST-TRACK PIVOTAL RULING TO DECIDE FATE OF SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORM

In April, Biden signed into law the Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, which gives TikTok's Chinese-based parent company, ByteDance, until Jan. 19, 2025 to sell the social media platform to an owner not considered a foreign adversary or face a ban in the U.S.

READ ON THE FOX BUSINESS APP

ByteDance and TikTok sued last month to block the law, arguing that divestiture "is simply not possible: not commercially, not technologically, not legally … There is no question: the Act will force a shutdown of TikTok by January 19, 2025, silencing the 170 million Americans who use the platform to communicate in ways that cannot be replicated elsewhere."

Biden's re-election campaign joined TikTok in February and plans to continue using the platform.

The TikTok law was part of a larger $95 billion package that provided aid to Ukraine and Israel for their respective wars.

House Republicans decided in April to attach the TikTok bill to the foreign aid package to help expedite its passage in Congress. The decision came after negotiations with the Senate, where an earlier version of the bill requiring ByteDance to divest its stakes in TikTok in six months had stalled.

The revised legislation extended the deadline, giving ByteDance nine months to sell TikTok and a possible three-month extension if a sale is in progress. The bill would also prohibit the company from controlling TikTok's algorithm that shows users videos based on their interests.

TIKTOK SUES TO BLOCK U.S. LAW REQUIRING SALE TO NON-CHINESE COMPANY

The measure states that providing services to "distribute, maintain, or update such foreign adversary controlled application" — TikTok — through which "users within the land or maritime borders of the United States may access, maintain, or update such application" is prohibited.

"It's not just funny cat videos — millions of Gen Z Americans like me use TikTok to express ourselves, share news, and debate our ideas," plaintiff Brad Polumbo, co-founder of BASED Politics, said in the release. "Many of us have also invested years of work into building businesses and careers online, and now face the prospect of watching our livelihoods be destroyed overnight."

"The government's de facto TikTok ban tramples on our First Amendment rights and represents one of the most egregious acts of censorship in modern American history," he continued. "We are proud to partner with the Liberty Justice Center to stop this unconstitutional act of censorship and the economic carnage it would inflict on hundreds of thousands of Americans."

Republican and Democrat lawmakers in Congress sought to punish TikTok in the U.S. over claims the platform collects user data and threatens national security and pushes foreign propaganda.

"We can't take the chance of having a dominant news platform in America controlled or owned by a company that is beholden to the Chinese Communist Party, our foremost adversary," Wisconsin GOP Rep. Mike Gallagher said in March.

TIKTOK CEO EXPECTS TO DEFEAT US BAN: 'WE AREN'T GOING ANYWHERE'

The plaintiffs also said that lawmakers' motivations for the legislation, in which they claim the app puts national security at risk and spreads propaganda to American users, cannot justify infringing on TikTok users' First Amendment rights, saying there is no evidence that the platform threatens national security or that a complete ban is necessary to respond to any potential threat. The lawsuit further says that the First Amendment does not allow the government to suppress speech it considers to be propaganda.

"There's a popular — and wrong — stereotype that TikTok is just a platform for trending dances," plaintiff Hannah Cox, co-founder of BASED Politics, said in the release. "The fact is that millions of Americans use TikTok to exercise their right to free speech, seriously discussing important political and social issues. The First Amendment protects that right, but the proposed TikTok ban would trample all over it in a misguided effort to protect Americans through sweeping acts of censorship."

Original article source: Right wing TikTokers sue Biden admin, challenging TikTok action on First Amendment grounds: 'A ban on speech'

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Guest Essay

The Slow Death of a Fabled Media Empire

By William D. Cohan

Mr. Cohan is a founding partner of Puck and a former Wall Street banker.

“60 Minutes.” MTV. “The Daily Show.” The future of some of America’s most recognized cultural icons is unknown as the fate of their owner, the Hollywood and media conglomerate Paramount Global, hangs in the balance.

Paramount may be on the verge of being sold, its prospects uncertain. Maybe the possibility of its demise isn’t worth lamenting. Maybe we should just crown Netflix the new king of Hollywood. Perhaps the sources of our next cultural touchstones are to be found on TikTok, Instagram Reels and YouTube, and not in the maze-like corridors of the CBS Broadcast Center on West 57th Street or in Paramount Pictures’ 65-acre Melrose Avenue lot.

Because Paramount Global’s ownership structure gives all power to its largest voting shareholder, the company’s future comes down to the whims of just one person: the 70-year-old heiress Shari Redstone. She chose to put Paramount on the block, and she alone is deciding between a buyer whose strategy could very well further weaken, or kill, these cultural icons — and one that at least allows for some hope of a creative revival. She could, of course, reject both options, and try to maintain what’s left of the status quo. Is this how we want our cultural future to be decided?

One of the two suitors for Paramount is a partnership between Sony Pictures Entertainment and Apollo Global, the alternative asset management behemoth, which wants to break the company up into its component parts and sell many off. That would probably result in new owners for CBS, Showtime, Paramount+, MTV and Comedy Central, risking the already tenuous futures of a set of businesses that would most likely get milked for their cash flow with little capital reinvestment. (Though it’s also possible they could flourish with new ownership.)

The hope in this fragile equation is that the other potential buyer, a partnership between David Ellison and his financial backers, will find a way to revive Paramount’s cultural and financial influence with a new management team and a new strategy. The group, which includes RedBird Capital and KKR, has offered to pay Ms. Redstone a big premium to get voting control of Paramount (leaving other shareholders with only a small fraction of the compensation she’s getting). It would then have Paramount buy Skydance Media, the group’s movie production company, and combine it with the Paramount studio to reap the “synergies.”

That complex deal promises the chance — but hardly the certainty — for a creative and economic revival of Paramount. Last week, the Ellison/RedBird deal won the backing of the special committee of the company’s board, and now it’s up to Ms. Redstone, at her sole discretion, to decide whether to accept it. Then, of course, doing nothing is also an option she could choose.

The relentless deal-making, over decades, that led to the creation of Paramount Global has taken a toll. Once innovative and wildly profitable businesses, such as CBS and MTV, are struggling financially. Morale is low as the sale process drags on. “The inability to come to any decision feeds high anxiety,” one longtime Paramount producer wrote me. Ms. Redstone’s conundrum of whether to sell the company, or not, is only possible due to the decades of wheeling and dealing by her father that made the Redstones one of America’s most powerful media families.

In 1987, Sumner Redstone was a little-known but audacious movie theater operator in Boston when he bought Viacom, the owner of a group of TV and radio stations along with MTV, Nickelodeon and Showtime. Over the ensuing two decades he would go on to gobble up the revered Paramount movie studio (a deal I worked on while I was at Lazard); Blockbuster, the video store giant; and CBS, in one of the biggest media mergers of the 20th century. In 2005, he bought DreamWorks SKG, the Hollywood studio founded by Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen. Regulators never tried to stop Mr. Redstone, presumably because there were always bigger competitors, such as Disney, or G.E., or Comcast, that also were allowed to grow without opposition from Washington.

Hollywood stars flocked to Mr. Redstone’s Beverly Park mansion in Los Angeles and to Dan Tana’s, his favorite restaurant. By granting access to CBS, or Showtime, or Paramount, or MTV or Comedy Central, Mr. Redstone had the power in Hollywood and in Manhattan to make others rich and famous. What made it all work was his attention to detail, his faith in his executives, and his willingness to wield the law (and his Harvard Law degree) as a weapon.

He loved the fight . He once got so angry at two of his direct reports that he ended up spitting out a tooth. “It’s like ‘Apocalypse Now,’” Tom Dooley, Viacom’s chief operating officer at the time, said in 2012. “He loves the smell of napalm in the morning.”

But as he aged, Mr. Redstone made mistakes. He stuck with executives for too long and paid them too generously. His two young girlfriends appeared to control too much of his life. He was late to opportunities, such as streaming, and let others slip away, like the chance to buy Marvel Entertainment. He temporarily barred Tom Cruise from the Paramount lot because he thought Cruise’s devotion to Scientology was hurting business.

As her father’s health deteriorated, Shari Redstone exerted greater and greater control — even though her dad for many years made it known that he didn’t want her involved with the business. After Mr. Redstone died, in 2020, at age 97, she took full legal control of Paramount and set about cleaning house, with new management and new boards of directors, loyal to her.

It hasn’t worked out as Ms. Redstone planned. While she was consolidating her power, Netflix and Apple were innovating and Disney, Comcast and Amazon were getting more formidable. The company she’s putting on the block seems forlorn at best. CBS and the cable channels are in a steep decline amid the rise of streaming, while its own streaming service Paramount+ lost more than $1.6 billion in 2023.

Putting the company up for sale seems only to have hastened Paramount’s decline. In late April, Ms. Redstone tossed out her longtime loyal chief executive, Bob Bakish, in the middle of the sale process, a rare event for sure, and replaced him with three co-chiefs, an even rarer phenomenon. Four board directors quit without explanation. Other potential deals, such as offers to buy Showtime and Paramount+, were passed up either because the prices was deemed too low by management or were never presented by management to the board to be considered. Through it all, Paramount’s market value has dwindled to around $9 billion — down a miserable 90 percent — and the value of the Redstone stake in the media empire has dwindled along with it.

At the annual shareholder meeting on Tuesday, Ms. Redstone praised the performance of her three co-chief executives, who proceeded to lay out their vision for how they would operate Paramount as it is, bolstering at least momentarily the idea she will decide not to sell the company.

What’s been lost in the nearly 40 years of the Redstones’ inveterate deal-making, in addition to enormous shareholder value, are any number of important cultural touchstones that CBS and Paramount once developed and nurtured, like MTV, like CBS News, like all the immense talent that once made Comedy Central iconic.

That happens, of course, as tastes and mores evolve decade after decade. But these losses seem more like self-inflicted wounds that could have been avoided under different stewardship. In sum, the family’s forays into Hollywood as well as into broadcast and cable television have proven to be pretty much an ego-driven failure.

William D. Cohan is a founding partner of Puck and a former Wall Street banker.

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