Nowadays when people do things, they give up too easily. In The Wright Brothers: How They Invented the Airplane, by Russell Freedman, it shows how the Wright brothers persisted and kept on going no matter how hard the task was. I think the theme for this book is don’t give up, even though the task is hard, you will eventually get some kind of reward. Wilbur and Orville Wright were two really persistent people who put everything they had into inventing the airplanes. “That day Wilbur made about a dozen flights. His best glides lasted between 15 and 20 seconds and covered 300 to 400 feet.” (Freedman,38) This quote was the first time their airplane rose off the ground and started to fly in 1900. That first airplane they made only lasted in the air for around 15 to 20 seconds and they spent a great deal of money and time into it. ““we doubted that we would ever resume our experiments,” Wilbur wrote later, “when we looked at the time and money which we had expended, and considered the progress made and the distance yet to go, we considered our experiments a failure.” (44) Even though the Wright brothers spent a lot of money and time on an airplane model that wasn’t really a success, they continued. “the Wright Flyer takes off on the world’s first successful airplane flight at 10:35 a.m. on December 17, 1903. Orville is at the controls, while Wilbur runs alongside. Estimated distance and time: 120feet in 12 seconds.” (79) This quote shows that after all the time and money they spent into the experiments the outcomes are great. After they successfully had an airplane flight, they didn’t stop there. “In the spring of 1905, the brothers completed Flyer III, an improved model of their powered aircraft.” (85) “That one flight was watched by an estimated one million New Yorkers, almost none of whom had ever seen an airplane in the air before.” (108) From these two quotes, you can tell that that the age of flight had finally come and these flights demonstrated that the Wright Flyer III was the world’s first truly practical airplane. From this, I could see that if you persist and keep going, eventually you will get some kind of result.
I started learning figure skating when I was 4 years old. Every time I go to the ice rink, I would have to wake up really early in the morning and drive an hour to get there. My coach was really strict to me, every time I practice, she would have very high expectations. When I was around 6 years old, I entered a young figure skater competition. I practiced for around 2 years to get ready for the competition. Every time I go to the ice rink, I wasn’t exactly happy, but I knew that I had to keep on practicing for the competition. The days passed, and the day of the competition gradually approached. My coach got stricter and made sure I got every single move and timing correct. When I was practicing, I’d always want to give up and back out of the competition, but I knew that I at least had to try. On the day of the competition, we set off early and I was really nervous. After an hour, I arrived at the ice rink. My coach came over and told me the things I needed to pay attention to during my routine. Finally, it was my turn. I took a deep breath and skated onto the middle of the ice rink. After I finished my routine, I got back out and waited for the rest to finish. In the end, I got second place in the competition. The competition involved every young skater in Asia, so to me, getting second place was really great. This experience showed me that whatever you’re doing, don’t give up, because eventually, you will get some kind of reward or result.
