Childhood experiences

[Aan Granados]

The experiences of childhood have a long lasting and a deep impact on an individual. But it also depends on the choices one makes that makes him who he is. Experiences just made him strong and determined to face difficulties in life head on.

I agree. One thing that stood out to me was that he turned to the Bible because he was afraid of his negative feeling towards his Auntie, because in his mind he wanted to hurt her. Just one of the choices he made that molded his character.

[briellejee]

Yes, the challenges pushed him to be more than what everybody was seeing in him that is a failure.

Especially his Auntie Edith who always see the wrong in him at first.

[briellejee]

As I've read along, the parts that struck me the most was the author's childhood experiences, especially learning about his true father, his mother being harsh on him because of his Auntie, his Auntie giving him a hard time. Do you think these childhood experiences contributed somehow to his success later on in his life? Do you think if they didn't happen he would still be able to achieve what he had achieved later on? One instance for me is that if he didn't undergo that moment where he stood up against his Auntie, he wouldn't have been able to survive med school. What are other instances you can think of?

Of course, our early life affects us and the environment we grow up in later on shows how we deal with life tribulations it depends on the case to a case will that be positive or negative. I don't know this may be a good question suited for someone in psychoanalysis background to explain it better.

yes I agree that someone with such background could help us understand more.

[briellejee]

The author could have turned these experiences around and just felt sorry for himself. Later in life he would tell stories about the harsh realities of life. He did none of those things. He used the gifts God gave him and worked hard. The experience shaped but didn't define him.

Your last line is the best one yet. yes, I agree that these shaped him and did not define him. After all, he turned things around for the better.

[briellejee]

I believe childhood experiences can play a big part in defining someone's life in many ways. The outcome for a person's life depends on how they interpret some of the most dramatic childhood experiences. Some will let the experience defeat them while others will be determined to do just the opposite and go for the gold, just as the author in this instance did. Everything he experienced during childhood was out of his control so he did not let them have an impact on what he set out to accomplish.

This is very enlightening for me! Thank you for these words

[briellejee]

The experiences of childhood have a long lasting and a deep impact on an individual. But it also depends on the choices one makes that makes him who he is. Experiences just made him strong and determined to face difficulties in life head on.

I agree, our experiences could only be used as guides but it is our choices that make us who we are. ) Really glad that the author chose not to jump back then.

[briellejee]

The experiences of childhood have a long lasting and a deep impact on an individual. But it also depends on the choices one makes that makes him who he is. Experiences just made him strong and determined to face difficulties in life head on.

I agree. One thing that stood out to me was that he turned to the Bible because he was afraid of his negative feeling towards his Auntie, because in his mind he wanted to hurt her. Just one of the choices he made that molded his character.

That was a mature thing to do even for a kid. Indeed his experiences "molded his character" to be better.

[Kibet Hillary]

As I've read along, the parts that struck me the most was the author's childhood experiences, especially learning about his true father, his mother being harsh on him because of his Auntie, his Auntie giving him a hard time. Do you think these childhood experiences contributed somehow to his success later on in his life? Do you think if they didn't happen he would still be able to achieve what he had achieved later on? One instance for me is that if he didn't undergo that moment where he stood up against his Auntie, he wouldn't have been able to survive med school. What are other instances you can think of?

Yes, challenges did play a huge role in shaping the author's life. It is always an undeniable fact that most of the time we are able to remain focused and determined in the face of challenges owing to our experiences.

[Kibet Hillary]

The experiences of childhood have a long lasting and a deep impact on an individual. But it also depends on the choices one makes that makes him who he is. Experiences just made him strong and determined to face difficulties in life head on.

I agree. One thing that stood out to me was that he turned to the Bible because he was afraid of his negative feeling towards his Auntie, because in his mind he wanted to hurt her. Just one of the choices he made that molded his character.

I guess this must be the one thing that helped him a lot because imagining what could have happened if he had hurt his aunt seems to indicate that he could probably be a different person now.

[Wriley]

"I'd say it was a combination of both his experiences and the personal and professional choices that he made that led to his success."

I completely agree. Work ethic played a hugh role for Frank. Those past experiences gave him the backbone to know he could succeed. I can't imagine how he felt to not have others believing in him at his university.

[Nisha Ward]

The experiences of childhood have a long lasting and a deep impact on an individual. But it also depends on the choices one makes that makes him who he is. Experiences just made him strong and determined to face difficulties in life head on.

I agree. One thing that stood out to me was that he turned to the Bible because he was afraid of his negative feeling towards his Auntie, because in his mind he wanted to hurt her. Just one of the choices he made that molded his character.

It was quite the choice and provided an interesting contrast with later in life when he decided not to attend church in the US while at Lehigh.

[Nisha Ward]

The experiences of childhood have a long lasting and a deep impact on an individual. But it also depends on the choices one makes that makes him who he is. Experiences just made him strong and determined to face difficulties in life head on.

I agree. One thing that stood out to me was that he turned to the Bible because he was afraid of his negative feeling towards his Auntie, because in his mind he wanted to hurt her. Just one of the choices he made that molded his character.

I guess this must be the one thing that helped him a lot because imagining what could have happened if he had hurt his aunt seems to indicate that he could probably be a different person now.

I don't know about other regions, but often in the Caribbean we tend to place our faith in God during trying times. The thing with his aunt definitely seemed like one of those.

[Florence Nalianya]

The author experienced hard times back at home. Being raised from a humble background where achieving high end education was a challenge to being mistreated by the aunty seen like factors that strengthened him to overcome even the racism he had to go through.

[Nisha Ward]

The author experienced hard times back at home. Being raised from a humble background where achieving high end education was a challenge to being mistreated by the aunty seen like factors that strengthened him to overcome even the racism he had to go through.

It seems that it also served to keep him humble and to encourage him to always work hard.

[DC Brown]

I wouldn't say, Yes or No. I beleive you use your painful and hard past to propel you to achieve higher goals and prove your oppresors wrong. On the other hand, he could have used his past as an excuse to turn to self pity and keep whinning about his shortcomings. I wouldn't pin his success to his childhood experiences because it could have turned either way. It is purely about his will power and working hard.

I agree that it was his determination and hard work that made him a success. As you pointed out, some people use hard times as an inspiration, others use it as an excuse.