I handwrote this from the 9th BB practice test prompt. All errors are included. Please give me a general score and feedback, thanks a lot!
This was written loosely following the 10 days to a 12 essay guide on CC
Prompt: Do you think that ease does not challenge us and that we need adversity to help us discover who we are?
Ease does not challenge us enough, instead we need adversity to help us discover who we are. The significance of adversity presents itself through literature and my personal experiences.
Adversity brings out who we really are, no matter what cloak we hide our true selves in. For example, in "The Scarlet Letter," a priest has a child with a woman through an act of adultery. This moral contradiction with what he was taught to do put great stress on him. While he was immensly respected as a priest, this "atrocity" caused him to push through extremely tough times. However, by the end of the novel, he became accepting of what he did and glistened with pride when looking at his daughter. His adversity made him realize what he truly loved and discover his role as a father. Without this challenge, he would never have uncovered his true self.
My experiences in high school wrestling exemplify how adversity forced me to discover who I really am. I used to be lazy and unwilling to do any sort of physical activity. That is, until I joined the wrestling team. Because of the grueling grind of each practice and the year-long season, I learned to throw away my excuses and dig deep within myself to achieve my goals in the sport. That skill has been the pedagogue I've always needed to accomplish more. Now I know that I can easily push through anything difficult as long as I have a goal in mind. The parallels between trying to win gold at a tournament and pursuing a high grade in a difficult class made me realize what I can accomplish by just working hard. If I never joined, if I took the easy route, I never would've discovereed what I am capable of.
Adversity is truly the only way we can discover who we really are. Ease simply does not help us do that. The benefits of experiencing hardships shine through the plot of "The Scarlet Letter" and my own experience in wrestling. We all need to face adversities to discover our own hidden abilities.