<p>Just took a practice and I need to know what I should give myself for the essay.</p>
<p>The prompt: Do you think that ease does not challenge us and that we need adversity to help us discover who we are?</p>
<p>Essay:</p>
<pre><code> In a society that emphasizes individuality, the result is one of stress for not being able to find a path. People want to be who they truly are and live up to their name. To finally accomplish this, humans need to challenge themselves and put themselves in the face of conflict to unlock the core and essence of who they are.
One of the main themes of American literature is one of a journey, specifically a journey from innocence to awareness. Holden Caulfied in JD Salinger's novel The Catcher in the Rye is often regarded as an exemplar for this American theme. Holden is a troubled adolescent boy who, after getting expelled from his fifth preparatory school, decides to take the weekend to go to New York City. He meets a variety of characters from taxi drivers to prostitutes to his younger sister. With each interaction, Holden learns a little more about himself and what he cares for. Being such an anti-social adolescent and forcing himself to open up, Holden starts to see he is not just a cynic who thinks the world is full of "phonies"; he is just lost. Upon the close of the novel, Holden finds his niche in life; to be the catcher in the rye and preventing children from falling off the cliff.
Although Holden Caulfield was a literary character who exemplified the theme of innocence to awareness, Greg Mortenson is a modern-day example. Mortenson was a mountain climber who climbed K2, the second-highest mountain in the world, and was lost. He was rescued by the village of Korphe where they treated him with hospitatlity, despite being so destitute. The experience shocked Mortenson and inspired him to start building schools in villages like Korphe so that the children there could have their minds and lives opened. Mortenson did not know what he wanted to be; he was lost as an adult. He liked to mountain climb and he had a college degree, but he did not know what his path was. It was not until taking a physical adversity and then a cultural adversity, that he learned his niche was to help people.
There will always be a point where someone is lost. Which path do they take? Who do they listen to? The answer to this can only be found in their heart. Even if they take the wrong path at first, there are always ways off that road and on to a new one. The paths of life are interconnected. With help from each other, each person will find their way in the forest that is life.
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