Diary of a Young Girl. The Idea of Optimism Essay Example

In, “Diary of a Young Girl,” Anne Frank fights through living in a cramped annex with a positive outlook on life as she writes about her life in her diary. In, “Dear Miss Breed,” Joanne Oppenheim reads letters about kids in concentration camps staying optimistic about their life turning upside down. Jessica Cassity’s article, “The Benefits of Looking on the Bright Side: 10 Reasons to Think Like an Optimist” proves how looking on the bright side can help people respond to times of conflict. Soba Sreenivasan and Linda E. Weinberger’s article, “Powering Up: Turning on Optimism” shows us how Optimism can help people look on the bright side and keep he/she powering through the tough times. Zach Cutler stated in his article, “The 5 Benefits of Being Optimistic” shows us 5 ways being optimistic can help people toughen up.

Optimism is the best way to respond to conflict. Some people may argue that optimism can be an illusion, with optimism, we underestimate risks that are currently happening. Although optimism can be misleading, it is also an extremely powerful tool that helps people find their way back on the right track.

Optimism can be the best way to respond to conflict because conflict will appear as a challenge that is overcomeable, and optimism not only forms happier people,  it causes them to be more healthy as well.

Zach Cutler, in his article, “The 5 Benefits of Being Optimistic,” stated that “Failure is not the end, in fact it is often the beginning of something great.” Just because something did not crack as planned that does not mean it becomes the end, it just becomes another challenge.

Louise Ogawa in Joanne Oppenheim’s article, “Dear Miss. Breed” try to turn their life back up again by looking on the bright side, “One of the most beautiful scenery was when crossing a bridge which was right above the Colorado River. It is, indeed, a beautiful river.” Louise is trying to look on the bright side and keep her life cheerful by remarking about how beautiful the river is, even though her life is going terrible.

Jessica Cassity states in her article,“The Benefits of Looking on the Bright Side: 10 Reasons to Think Like an Optimist,” “If you think that the world is inherently good, and that life will work out in your favor, you're more likely to rate your own health and sense of well-being as better.” If people think superb and joyous thoughts, he/she will become a superb and joyous person, which causes a person’s health to increase. A friendly and delightful person can overcome a problem more efficiently than a pessimist by being ready to tackle any problem, in any way, under any circumstances.

Another reason why optimism is the best way to respond to conflict is that Optimism helps people look on the bright side, it drives people to want to continue pushing through.

In, “Powering Up: Turning on Optimism” Soba Sreenivasan and Linda E. Weinberger state, “What characterizes optimism is that it pushes a person out of mediocrity, because having an expectation of the best is energizing; it leads an individual to look for new challenges without fear of failure.  Moreover, failure itself can be reframed as successive approximations toward success.  Give it the following interpretation: if you try enough times you will get there...” Optimism pushes people to look for new challenges so that they could create whatever conflict that pops up in a person’s way just another challenge and continue advancing through life.

In Anne Frank’s diary, “The Diary of a Young Girl,” she stated, “Up to now our bedroom, with its blank walls, was very bare. Thanks to Father -who brought my entire postcard and movie-star collection here beforehand -and to a brush and a pot of glue, I was able to plaster the wall with pictures. It looks much more cheerful.” Anne Frank just moved into her hideaway house and her life just went down the drain. Even though Anne’s life is in the drain, she still enjoys the littlest things and continues to push through her troubles with a positive outlook on life.

Joanne Oppenheim stated in, “Dear Miss. Breed,” “We took buckets of water and washed all over the walls—we washed the dust and the grit. All the water goes right between the spaces—through the floorboards—the place is dry in thirty minutes because it was just so hot… they had a record temperature of 144 degrees! I used to walk like this ...my head tilted down and sideways so my face wouldn’t go straight into the heat.” Babe Karasawa needed to survive in one of the hottest days of the year. Babe just readjusted and advanced through to the next problem.

Enthusiasm and an elated outlook on life is one of the best ways to counter conflict.