Eric's paper Strength of Attitude 2017

 Eric Autrey

Bess Hayes

ENG 2010

24 January 2017

Strength of Attitude

Have you ever found yourself resenting everything around you? Who hasn't? Maybe you are behind schedule, perhaps the weather is unbearable, or inexplicably, your tire falls off on the way to the beach. Suppose, to your horror, you discover that your child expressed their imagination all over the wall. Worse still, on your neighbor's car! Your patience is short and your temper shorter. You tell yourself, gloom is only natural; you would be happier if only you caught a break! That, until such a day, you reserve the right to be a curmudgeon. Have you ever found yourself resenting everything except you? If you’re being honest, and, if I'm being honest, No. Our perception of the world is more than what we think, it’s who we are. Borrowing from Albert Einstein, this is what I believe; “Weakness of attitude becomes weakness of character.”

Most people have experienced some adversity, I’m no different. As a child I was abused, both physically and sexually by the people I most needed; my parents. I wound up in the foster system and a couple years later I was gifted a fresh start with a new family! Sure, the psychological, emotional, and physical scars are still there, and no matter how long ago it was I can still feel them; but they don’t define me like I once thought they could. I refuse to succumb to their dark and lonely possibilities: weakness of attitude. I don’t believe that I am a survivor, even though I survived. I have overcome “the odds”, but I don’t believe that I am an overcomer. No, I would rather view my life through a different lense; I am an Optimist. It is because of this idealism that I choose to have a strong attitude in life. I simply want to be of the highest character that I can, and that's how I want to be defined.

This cornerstone of my beliefs was not ingrained into me from childhood, nor was it a wonder of genetics. I sought it out the way someone might seek truth in religion; I read, I prayed, but most of all I pondered through it. Under the guise of motivating a team of salesmen I stumbled across Mr Einstein’s simple phrase. I don’t know if it helped the others that summer, but it has sure helped me to do more than just survive, I am thriving. 

I hope that no one else has to experience the fright of driving on three tires in the California mountains like I did, or even the gut wrenching feel of writing out a check for a neighbors new paint job, like I did. I pray that every child who is abused can get revenge on their abusers, in the form of growing beyond that experience and leading a normal life. Through the myriad of ups and down that I have experienced, I learned more than any event, this simple truth defines who I really am; my strength of attitude becomes my strength of character.