Title
Document Type
Definition Essay
Publication Date
1988
Excerpt
As I was lying in my hospital bed, I was thinking to myself--life was such a waste! My mom was dead, and I was incapable of eating, talking, and walking on my own. What would I become--a cripple or a handicapped person, someone who has to rely on others in order to survive in life? Just then, my high school wrestling coach walked into my room, just as he had every day since I was admitted to the St. Francis Rehabilitation Hospital. It was always nice to see Coach Young. Actually, it was the highlight of each day because we joked around and laughed about school and the hospital. On this day, coach brought me a gift, a cardboard poster of a wrestler covered all over with signatures and messages from all of my teammates and friends at school. At the bottom, there was a prominent message from Coach Young: "Tough Times Don't Last but Tough People Do!" I thought, "Great, wonderful!" this was all I needed: a coach who practiced philosophy on the side. ll'hat I didn't realize, however, was that these words would be the words I would live my remaining life by.
Recommended Citation
Jones, Brent, "Being Tough (1988)" (1988). The Valpo Core Reader. 456.
http://scholar.valpo.edu/core_reader/456