Annotated

KEELS 2

Jermal Keels

Professor Liz Wilfong

English 101-W10

24 February 2019

Balmain, Melissa. ”Bouncing Back” Success Magazine, 2012

In the article, Bouncing Back by Melissa Balmain which can be located on the internet at www.success.com dating back to March 12, 2012. She brings up many interesting points about how someone can bounce back from the troubles of the world. She believes that there is room for self-empowerment after something traumatic happens to a person. Maybe it was the loss of a love one, loss of a job, an incarceration of a love, or a car accident. All these things can cause a person to struggle mentally.

Throughout the article she provides some very insightful knowledge from a few people who’ve had life to knock them down, but they found the motivation to bounce back and continue living life to the fullest. She uses Harvard psychologist Robert Brooks, Ph.D. and author’s expert opinion quoted saying “There are certain outlooks and skills we can develop and regardless of what the adversity or challenge may be, we are able to deal with it”(Brooks). That is very true statement. Often people throw themselves a pity party in hopes it will make it all go away. The sad part is it only makes it worse because they have failed to deal with the situation. Take for instance Mr. Truong in the article. He and his family were captured by pirates as they fled Vietnam post war. He and his wife were thrown overboard and left to die while their son was kept aboard. He survived this ordeal, but his wife did not. His son stolen from away him and he couldn’t do anything about it. Instead of beating himself up Mr. Truong found a way to make the best of his situation. He said, “I told myself, ‘Get going,” he replies emphatically. “Life has to go on.” (Truong) That is a very powerful statement for some one who has just lost everything expect for life itself. Melissa has provided knowledge on the on this subject and how someone could potentially gain some understanding of the situation at hand. She is also letting her readers know that there is light at the end of the dark tunnel they are in. She had a brief story about a young woman named Tricia Downing who was a cyclist. The young lady was involved in an accident that left her paralyzed from the chest down. This young woman could have thrown in the towel and given up. Instead she fought, going to rehab and getting stronger was her outlet to overcome adversity. She began to compete again at something many didn’t think would be impossible for her. Tricia said “In the beginning I did have those thoughts, but I let them dissipate. I realized, ‘I can’t do things the same way I used to do them—I just have to find different ways.’ Telling yourself, ‘I can do this’ is really important to being resilient.” (Downing) Melissa Balmain is a well-known journalist, humorist and editor. Her work contains examples too that are relatable and reliable for many people.