Nelson Mandela & Adam Goodes
Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 27 years convicted of sabotage and conspiracy to overthrow the current South African government. He was freed in 1990 and became the first black South African President in 1994. Nelson Mandela fought for black people to have human rights. At the time black people were not wanted and were not allowed to have any impact on THEIR own country. The adversity that Nelson Mandela faced was racism and because of this he was sentenced to 27 years in jail. He overcame this troubling time by always thinking positively. When he was in prison, Mandela's inmates saw him as one of the greatest leaders of South Africa and they decided to follow him. When Nelson protested against the poor living conditions of the blacks, his inmates supported him and went on a hunger strike in the the prison. When Nelson was offered freedom if he would stop protesting, he didn't accept the offer, instead he quoted "To be free is not to merely cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others." By keeping an open mind and living life to the fullest that he could, Mandela was eventually freed from prison and ended up president of South Africa. |
Adam Goods
Adam Goodes faced racism when Sydney Swans versed Collingwood Magpies in 2013. A 13 year old girl in the crowd shouted a racial slur to Goodes which caused adversity at the time. When this incident happened Adam was going to forget about it and keep on playing but instead he said "I just looked back and saw this young girl and I just looked away. Then I was like 'nah, this isn't happening' and I pointed her out to the security guard and said 'mate, I don't want her here, get her out.'" After the security guard took the girl off the ground, Adam went off the field and straight down to the change rooms where he said "I lost it emotionally, it just really cut me deep and I didn't want to be on the ground anymore." As you can see, a fully grown man can still face adversity and still be sad and depressed from it. Adam Goodes overcame this tough time by thinking positive and having a break from AFL. He took everything out of his life and focussed on staying strong. Together with his former teammate Michael O’Loughlin, Adam established the Go Foundation which helps the next generation of Indigenous people. These ways of overcoming racism made him stronger and able to play AFL again. By overcoming racism and helping others to overcome it as well he was awarded Australian Of The Year in 2014. |