Nothing Can Stand In Their Way

Imagine baseball without Babe Ruth, comedy without Jim Carrey, and women’s right to vote without Susan B. Anthony. They would not be the same. Everyone at one point in time has an obstacle that stands in his or her way. Those obstacles can be simple like not wanting to get out of bed in the morning because one is extremely tired. It may be a huge obstacle like one losing their job and still having to put food on the table. According to an unknown source, “You can either allow the obstacles in your life to be the excuse for your failure or make them the reason behind your success.” Though obstacles may stand in someone’s way of achieving their dreams, if one possesses determination, courage and confidence, nothing can stand in their way.
Many people use determination to help them achieve their dreams. Jim Carrey is one example. Jim was an odd child, while he was sitting in his high chair, he would make faces at his parents or whoever was feeding him instead of eating (“Jim,” par 3). As a child he was very shy at school. When his family moved to Toronto he was determined to use his talents of clowning around to help him make some friends (“Jim,” par 4). “Jim told Shane Peacock in Saturday Night that “for some reason I did something where I realized I could get a reaction. That was when I broke out of my shell at school, because I really did not have any friends or anything like that and I just kind of was going along, and then finally I did this zany thing and all of a sudden I had tons of friends.” (“Jim,” par 4).” Jim had to go to work with two of his siblings when he was in his teens because his father was laid off without warning, his family could barely manage so he went to work to help out (“Jim,” par 6). Growing up, he wanted to have better than he was given. His grades started slipping because of the late hours at the factory. He also lost many friends because he did not want them anymore. He worked so hard for those friends that he now had to give up because of working to financially help his family (“Jim,” par 6). Another person with a similar childhood was Babe Ruth.
Babe grew up unsupervised for most of his childhood (“Babe Ruth” St. James par 2). For the reason of his lack of supervision; he eventually refused to attend school. Which landed him at St. Mary’s Industrial School For Boys (“Babe Ruth” St. James par 2). Brother Matthias became a father figure to Babe. He was the person who became the inspiration for Babe’s baseball career (“Babe Ruth” St. James par 3). Baseball was the main sport played at St. Mary’s. Ruth finally landed his first contract after many-failed attempts; his first contract was for 600 dollars a year (“Babe Ruth” St. James par 3). Babe was determined to get his life on track with his newfound baseball career after his troubled childhood.
Susan B. Anthony was a determined individual as well. She had been that way since childhood. Susan’s family was the reason she did what she did. They were all active in the war against slavery, the temperance movement, and they helped launch the petition for women’s right to vote (“Susan B. Anthony” Contemporary par 2). Susan was an active activist just like her parents. Her parents were liberal Quaker parents of eight children. Their house was stripped of decorations, musical instruments, and everything that might distract them from their relationship with God (“Susan B. Anthony” Contemporary par 2). Susan was determined in everything that she did, whether it be baking twenty-one loaves of bread everyday for the residents of the mill her family owned, or obtaining equal rights for women (“Susan B. Anthony” Contemporary par 6). Determination was just one characteristic you can possess. Courage is another that can help you overcome the obstacles you may face during life.
Certainly one must have courage to pursue their dreams. Courage is a trait located in almost everyone. Jim Carrey is a great example of this. He first discovered his courage when he was in grade school. He was telling jokes to the kids around him and his teacher told him to share with the whole class, so he did. He got up in front of the entire class and told his jokes. They loved them! The teacher never made him do that again (“Jim”, par 5). He landed his first official gig at age 15. He showed up in a polyester suit which did not go over to well with the hip crowd, so he got booed off the stage (“Jim”, par 7). He had the courage to attempt another big gig only two years later, at age 17. This time he messed up his hair and dressed more appropriately. Finally he got the reaction he was used to getting from his friends and family (“Jim”, par 7). He had the courage to go to work while he was in grade school. This was not a part time job like one would have now. This was a full time job. He worked eight hours after school as well as keeping his attendance good. He had to obtain a job to help support his family when his father suddenly lost his (“Jim”, par 6). He struggled to keep his grades up though. Imagine going to school, then work for eight hours and coming home and doing homework. It must have been hard. He was a brilliant child, for this reason he was not used to getting bad grades (“Jim”, par 6). Jim was not the only one that used courage to achieve goals in life. Babe Ruth was another. “After several unsuccessful attempts, on February 27, 1914, Brother Matthias secured his progeny a tryout with the Baltimore Orioles of the International League (“Babe Ruth” St. James par 3).” This showed that Babe possessed courage, if he did not he would have given up after all his unsuccessful attempts. He also became one of the best pitchers in Baltimore only at age 14. That is something not many people can say (“Babe Ruth” St. James par 3). Susan B. Anthony is another brilliant example of showing courage.
She endured years of public abuse and sarcasm from those who made light of her work because she believed in something different than theirs (“Susan B. Anthony” Contemporary par 2). She got her fist official job in 1839 with the New York School System. There she protested the inequity of the teacher salaries, this angered the members of the school board. That issue combined with the fact that she visited African Americans in their homes eventually caused her to lose her job (“Susan B. Anthony” Contemporary par 7). In the same way as courage, confidence will help someone stand up against their obstacles in order to pursue their dreams. Confidence can play a big role on someone’s self-esteem. Ones self-esteem plays a part in their abilities to overcome obstacles. Confidence is something that one must possess if they wish to be a performer, be it in a movie or on a stage. Jim Carry is a perfect example. Jim had confidence that his comedy material would not get him booed off the stage a second time. He took a huge leap of faith. It takes a ton of confidence just to get up onto a stage in front of an audience, but to do it again shortly after being booed off is a truly rare quality one can possess. Just like he had the confidence in himself to get up in front of the entire class in grade school to preform an entire act, not knowing how they were going to react (“Jim”, par 5-7). Jim is a very well known person now, and it all started with a shy little kid. Babe Ruth was the same way.
He went on to become one of the greatest baseball players of his time. He broke many records; some still stand not broken today (“Babe Ruth” St. James par 8). This takes so much confidence to achieve. If you did not have confidence in your ability you would not get very far. He also had the confidence that he would be able to transfer from a pitcher to a hitter before he got traded, which he achieved (“Babe Ruth” St. James par 7). Susan B. Anthony may not have been the greatest baseball player, or an amazing comedian but it took a ton of confidence to achieve what she did.
The stood up for her beliefs, even when it caused her to lose her job, even when she for constantly tormented by the general public (“Susan B. Anthony” Contemporary par 2). It takes having confidence in oneself and their cause to keep standing when everyone wants them to back down. Susan was raised with confidence. At an early age she was taught that if one believes in something, they should never let someone intimidate them enough to make them back down from their beliefs. One must see that determination, courage, and confidence play within each other to get past all obstacles one may face with chasing their dreams. In conclusion, one cannot say that because of the hardships in their life, they are unable to become someone successful. One choses the path they take in life, not their obstacles or challenges. They are just there to make one stronger. Everyone faces obstacles in life, but possessing characteristics like determination, courage and confidence, anything is possible. From the brilliant mind of Georges St-Pierre, “It’s not about how you are when things go well, what defines you is how you are after you fail from an obstacle.” Keep that in mind next time someone is going through an obstacle they think they cannot overcome. It is not the obstacle that defines someone, it is how they react to the challenges they are facing during that time.

Works Cited
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“Babe Ruth.” St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture. Ed. Sara Pendergast and Tom Pendergast. Detroit: St. James Press, 2000. Biography in Context. Web. 20 Feb. 2014.
Creamer, Robert. Babe: The Legend Comes to Life. New York: Fireside, 1992. Print.
“Jim Carrey.” Newsmakers. Detroit: Gale, 1995. Biography in Context. Web. 20 Feb. 2014.
“Susan B. Anthony.” Contemporary Heroes and Heroines. Vol. 3. Detroit: Gale 1998. Biography in Context. Web. 20 Feb. 2014.
“Susan B. Anthony.” Gay and Lesbian Biography. Ed. Michael J. Turkus and Michael Bronski. Detroit: St. James Press, 1997. Biography in Context. Web. 24 Feb. 2014.
“The Trial of Susan B. Anthony.” Amendment XIX: Granting Women the Right to Vote. Ed. Carrie Fredricks. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2009. 73-89. Constitutional Amendments: Beyond the Bill of Rights. U.S. History in Context. Web. 20 Feb. 2014.