Saturday, October 31, 2009

Lance Armstrong


Lance Armstrong was born on 18th of September 1971, in Texas. He began his cycling career when he was only 12 years old. At the age of 16 he became a professional and won the national sprint championship. In 1993 he was the youngest cycler to ever win the world road race championship. This shows his fighting character which I admire the most in him. (Wikipedia) . Many people think that he survived because of a miracle or some extraordinary medicine. The thing that saved him from the death was his strong will and determination to survive. Even though he hasn’t done something extraordinary to help mankind he has given hope to those who are fighting with cancer. He has made an organization which is helping people with all kinds of cancer variations. When he was cured from cancer it wasn’t easy for him to get back and win the Tour de France again. Lance had to input a lot of courage and determination in order to get his cycling form back. After his disease he has released that he can make a change in helping people with cancer. That is why I admire Lance Armstrong and I think that his life is meaningful. . Immanuel Kaunt said that one should do things in a way that treats humanity in way not only as means, but also as an end. This is what Lance is doing at the moment. He has opened an organization that is helping diseased people with all kinds of cancer. Through selling rubber bands with the motto “Live Strong”, and donating his own money he has raised a lot of money for the organization. . Virtue is a balance between excess and deficiency was what Aristotle taught. Also he taught that if can balance those two things and at the end one doesn’t have to search more he has achieved great happiness. Lance Armstrong has done this, because thanks to his courage to survive he is not dead and he is raising excess money to help his organization. Also by riding his bike he has won the Tour de France and achieved a bigger success. Therefore I consider him successful because he has found a balance between deficiency and excess. . After his comeback from the terrible disease Lance Armstrong’s main goal was to help people who don’t have enough money to undergo cancer treatment and survive like he has. That is what the happiness principle states – the more happiness one does to other people, the happier one is. Therefore when the person has filled his life with happiness his life is meaningful. . Many people might say that he has been cured from cancer because he had a lot of money. But that is not true because lance had to take an important decision before he undergoes any treatment. He had to choose between chemotherapy or doing a surgeon that is still experimental. He was a winner and he knew that he had to take a risk in order to survive. . Other people might say that his organization is raising money, but they are not enough because the people diagnose with cancer are more than the money invested in helping these kind of people. That is partially true but part of the money goes to special researches that will help cure everyone from cancer in the near future thanks to Lance Armstrong. And when someone makes people smile and happy his life is meaningful.
Lance Armstrong has achieved many things throughout his life and he is still 36 years old. Also he was born on the same date as him and he is exactly 20 years older than me, which makes me think that I am special like him. And if I have the opportunity to have his strong will and courage I will be the happiest person in the world.

1 comment:

  1. Vlad, this is a well written piece. I like your use of commas and apostrophes. I noticed a few errors but they are small and can easily be fixed. Don't worry, I have just as many errors and I speak English! Also, I like a quote you added " the more happiness one does to other people, the happier one is." Overall your essay looks great. I never knew Lance Armstrong did so many important things. I look forward to reading more from you, keep up the good work!

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