I don't agree with him. I think that pressure is necessary to push you forward, but too much pressure will always be too much, and it can and will crush you. -Byron
I believe that a certain amount and type of pressure is good for everyone. However, it really depends on the person. Everyone responds differently to pressure. Some people thrive off of it while others just shut down. So in my opinion it depends on the person.
I agree with you. Pressure can make or break a person depending on them personally. Pressure can light a fire under someone, but it can also be the thing that pushes someone over the edge. I believe that a little pressure is good but with too much people can become discouraged by it. I remember feeling a lot of pressure in school, and sometimes it made me want to give up rather than be my best. - Carolanne Eddy
I don't think Neil understands the pressure that Nora has experienced through her life. I agree that pressure can drive someone toward great things, but Nora has experienced so much pressure in her life that she is not driven by it, but instead, she is put off by it. She needs someone to tell her that there is no pressure to live up to every expectation set for her. -Denna Bussinger
I do not agree with Neil in this chapter because he is assuming that everyone who experiences pressure will succeed or become perfect eventually. This may have been the case for Neil, but not for most people. Some people do not do well under pressure and it can break them, such as Nora. Swimming was a lot of pressure for her and she quit because that is what was better for her. She has also had so many life experiences that were very horrible, such as her cat dying the night before, and the last thing she needed was a speech on pressure because it is obvious that she does not take it the same as other people.
Neil's comment is valid in that everyone needs a certain amount of pressure to move forward. In nature, the pressure is that of simple survival, but in the modern world in which day-to-day survival is generally more assured (even though longevity is by no means guaranteed), additional pressures are often needed to ensure the continued development and dedication of an individual. Financial pressures, inhumane though they may be at times, might force an individual to contribute meaningfully to society through work and, in so doing, develop skills that both create a feeling of competence and also connect them to others in their profession. Pressure in study and the pursuit of knowledge creates an individual that is able to think critically and withstand rigor; indeed, any amount of pressure can make an individual even more resistant to pressure and stress (though this is not universal). The pressure of death motivates people to achieve and leave their mark on the world; why would anyone strive to do anything noteworthy if they could perpetually procrastinate and wait to learn vital skills until later? Neil understands to some extent what Nora is going through, though he certainly does not understand all of the pressures she feels in her lackluster life. His advice, even if it may seem dismissive, comes from an attempt to make Nora see that there is yet a chance that her situation, as a result of its struggles and tribulation, may ossify into diamond. -Eli Grasso
In this chapter, Neil says, "Pressure makes us though. You start off as coal and the pressure makes us a diamond." I agree to a certain extent with what he says about pressure. It's clear he has good intentions for saying this, seen early in the chapter when he tells Nora he feels as if she's made for better things and that "it's never too late to pursue a dream." I think that while pressure can and does motivate people, and pushes people toward these better things, that often people cannot handle huge amounts of pressure and just crumble, crash, and burn. - Adalyn Winters
As most of the responses have said, Neil is right to a certain extent. The right amount of pressure is truly dependent on the person. For some people, being down by one point in the big game helps drive them to score a winning basket. For others, this pressure might cause them to miss a layup they can normally make with their eyes closed. Another example is how some people can study all they want, and still be bad test takers due to anxiety. Pressure might make everyone tough, but it only makes some succeed.
You know it's hard to be original when everyone else has the same through of "within the right context, not in this case" but hey great minds think alike. My dad is very calm under pressure, my mom panics a little, and my sister panics a lot. Pressure can form a diamond, or it can break a rock. Some people become the diamond, others become the rock. What a lot of people forget is that we are wired different, something like fear or pain, for a lack of a better way to put it, are programmed to react in different ways. Some of the ways are really harmful either in the short term or long term. In the case of pain, mental or physical, I laugh it off even if it actually affects me greatly. Is it a great thing to do? Probably not but it is what it is. Though i will say some pressure has the same reactions. Primarily near death, it tends to trigger either a reaction on peace, or violence (like the Polar bear event in later chapters)
I disagree with the statement, pressure doesn't always make the best of situations. Especially you're constantly under said pressure. Going though something horrible doesn't automatically make you tougher, yes it makes you have that experience under your belt and can prepare you for if it ever happens again, but depending on how you go about life and what kind of person you are it could do quite the opposite. -Briana Grigg
I agree with your statement that pressure does not always make the best of situations and doesn't always make you together. I think going through certain amounts of pressure can help you be better prepared in the next situation. I think someone's outlook on their situations can also affect how they go on with their lives and how they handle certain situations.
To an extent, I agree with Neil. Pressure is one of those things in life that no one can get around or avoid for every situation in their life. Eventually, a person is going to have to face some pressure. People can come out of situations changed for the better by the pressures they face. So, in a way I agree with Neil when he said "Pressure makes us, though..." Every person is different for the amount of pressures they can handle, whether it be social pressures or pressures of keeping a certain job. I think the right amount of pressure can mold a person into someone they never thought they could be. Too much pressure on the other hand can break a person. When a person is overloaded with too much pressure it can make them start to crumble. It's like when there is too much weight is stacked on top of a bridge for so long. Eventually all the pressure will start to make the bridge crumble and fall apart.
I do not agree with Neil on that pressure makes perfection. I think this because pressure may be a good driving force to do great things for some people, but pressure is different for everyone. Some people may thrive in high pressure situations, but others may not and it will lead to their downfall in whatever it is they are trying to achieve. Neil should not be putting his own experiences on Nora because he has no idea what she is going through and the amount of trauma that she has experienced in her life.
I to some extent agree with Neil, pressure does help to shape us into who we become and act like everyday. Even though it shapes us to be better it also adds extra pressure that can make some people feel as though they can not live up to those expectations. Pressure is both a creator and destroyer of some peoples dreams.
This is similar to what I posted in my answer. I agree that it can have both positive and negative outcomes, depending on the person affected. For example, with me I know that applied pressure makes me better. But there are people I know that could break from the same pressure.
I agree with what Neil says, but only to a certain extent. As most people know, pressure is at least slightly necessary to keep your life in balance, and to prepare you for everything you have to face for the rest of your life. In this sense, I can agree with Neil. However, you have to consider that too much pressure can and will hurt you in the long run. People who deal with pressure daily in work or social situations will eventually feel the toll of that weight, whether through mental health struggles or their own physical health. -Carson Dill
I definitely agree with you. Pressure is usually a good thing that can bring out the best of us in certain situations, but often pressure at a bad time or too much pressure can hurt, for sure. I like your point about how people that already live in pressure situations can't take much more, putting them at a disadvantage and bringing them closer to being hurt from the pressure.
For the most part, I agree with what Neil thinks about pressure, and how it can often have the ability to bring the best out of us in many situations. Finals week, a competitive job application, even sports are all things that pressure can use as a bridge to get to us and work its wonders, and many times help us perform the way we want to. To take Neil's theory further, I think that the beautiful thing about pressure is that we will never have it if we don't put it on ourselves. This is sort of reassuring in a way, because if we want to stay 'safe' from pressure, all we have to do is never put ourselves out there in a way that pressure can get to us. However, a life without risking pressure is not a life worth living. If all we do is sit in our houses and never leave, never go to college, look for a job, or put ourselves out there in any way, we will never grow. Though these things may bring the risk of pressure and stressful times, the reward usually far outweighs the risk. This only adds to the wonder of pressure, as never risking pressure brings a life of nothing, which is pressure in itself, meaning we HAVE to bring ourselves into the realm of pressure if we want to escape pressure. Only by doing this, accepting the pressure, and fighting through it, can we truly experience what Neil is talking about.
For the most part, I agree with what is said pertaining to pressure. Although it may not seem like it at the time, I have found that in my life the applied pressure in life nearly always has a stronger outcome. Once you get to the end of the tribulation, you will look back and have changed for the better no matter what you were put through. With this being said, some people may break during the process. This is from lack of mental strength, but if they were stronger they would too reape the same advantages given by experiencing pressures in life. I believe that any and all pressure offers positives, you just have to be willing to see it through to the very end in order to gain them.
I think that what Neil says does have some merit to it; people need stress to grow and mature, but too much stress can harm far more than it helps. In the case of Nora, growing up with all the stress of being a mistake or never being good enough definitely took a toll on her development. Because of how much stress she was under as a child, she learned to run from stress rather than to embrace it and learn from it. After all that has happened to her, for Neil to tell her that “pressure makes us” and painting that pressure like something everyone needs to embrace it in order to become their ‘perfect’ like a diamond made Nora upset and more isolated than she already was. After Neil brings that up, Nora says that “coal is too impure to become diamond” and maybe that is the ‘real life lesson’ of what Neil said. Nora thinks that she cannot improve because that stress did not make her better, and that she started as coal and will end as such.
Neil's comment about pressure in this chapter is agreeable to an extent. I took the statement of pressure making people from coal to diamonds as pressure is a good thing for everyone. Pressure in situations causes most people to stress a little bit or a whole lot and this is good as it will shape you as a person, like Neil was saying. Eventually there is a point that people will break and start to shut down or freeze when the pressure is too much. Either way you look at it, a person will only grow by either learning more about their limits or overcoming the pressure. - Cody Miller
Neil's comment about pressure shaping diamonds could be realistic if we all functioned on the same level with one set ambition. I enjoy Nora's internal rebuttal about how coal cannot turn into pure diamond by itself. Which that could be an additional metaphor in itself in that sometimes you may have to endure pressure and accept the imperfect outcome.
I don't agree with him. I think that pressure is necessary to push you forward, but too much pressure will always be too much, and it can and will crush you.
ReplyDelete-Byron
I believe that a certain amount and type of pressure is good for everyone. However, it really depends on the person. Everyone responds differently to pressure. Some people thrive off of it while others just shut down. So in my opinion it depends on the person.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you. Pressure can make or break a person depending on them personally. Pressure can light a fire under someone, but it can also be the thing that pushes someone over the edge. I believe that a little pressure is good but with too much people can become discouraged by it. I remember feeling a lot of pressure in school, and sometimes it made me want to give up rather than be my best. - Carolanne Eddy
DeleteI don't think Neil understands the pressure that Nora has experienced through her life. I agree that pressure can drive someone toward great things, but Nora has experienced so much pressure in her life that she is not driven by it, but instead, she is put off by it. She needs someone to tell her that there is no pressure to live up to every expectation set for her.
ReplyDelete-Denna Bussinger
I do not agree with Neil in this chapter because he is assuming that everyone who experiences pressure will succeed or become perfect eventually. This may have been the case for Neil, but not for most people. Some people do not do well under pressure and it can break them, such as Nora. Swimming was a lot of pressure for her and she quit because that is what was better for her. She has also had so many life experiences that were very horrible, such as her cat dying the night before, and the last thing she needed was a speech on pressure because it is obvious that she does not take it the same as other people.
ReplyDelete-Alexus King
DeleteNeil's comment is valid in that everyone needs a certain amount of pressure to move forward. In nature, the pressure is that of simple survival, but in the modern world in which day-to-day survival is generally more assured (even though longevity is by no means guaranteed), additional pressures are often needed to ensure the continued development and dedication of an individual. Financial pressures, inhumane though they may be at times, might force an individual to contribute meaningfully to society through work and, in so doing, develop skills that both create a feeling of competence and also connect them to others in their profession. Pressure in study and the pursuit of knowledge creates an individual that is able to think critically and withstand rigor; indeed, any amount of pressure can make an individual even more resistant to pressure and stress (though this is not universal). The pressure of death motivates people to achieve and leave their mark on the world; why would anyone strive to do anything noteworthy if they could perpetually procrastinate and wait to learn vital skills until later? Neil understands to some extent what Nora is going through, though he certainly does not understand all of the pressures she feels in her lackluster life. His advice, even if it may seem dismissive, comes from an attempt to make Nora see that there is yet a chance that her situation, as a result of its struggles and tribulation, may ossify into diamond.
ReplyDelete-Eli Grasso
In this chapter, Neil says, "Pressure makes us though. You start off as coal and the pressure makes us a diamond." I agree to a certain extent with what he says about pressure. It's clear he has good intentions for saying this, seen early in the chapter when he tells Nora he feels as if she's made for better things and that "it's never too late to pursue a dream." I think that while pressure can and does motivate people, and pushes people toward these better things, that often people cannot handle huge amounts of pressure and just crumble, crash, and burn.
ReplyDelete- Adalyn Winters
As most of the responses have said, Neil is right to a certain extent. The right amount of pressure is truly dependent on the person. For some people, being down by one point in the big game helps drive them to score a winning basket. For others, this pressure might cause them to miss a layup they can normally make with their eyes closed. Another example is how some people can study all they want, and still be bad test takers due to anxiety. Pressure might make everyone tough, but it only makes some succeed.
ReplyDeleteYou know it's hard to be original when everyone else has the same through of "within the right context, not in this case" but hey great minds think alike. My dad is very calm under pressure, my mom panics a little, and my sister panics a lot. Pressure can form a diamond, or it can break a rock. Some people become the diamond, others become the rock. What a lot of people forget is that we are wired different, something like fear or pain, for a lack of a better way to put it, are programmed to react in different ways. Some of the ways are really harmful either in the short term or long term. In the case of pain, mental or physical, I laugh it off even if it actually affects me greatly. Is it a great thing to do? Probably not but it is what it is. Though i will say some pressure has the same reactions. Primarily near death, it tends to trigger either a reaction on peace, or violence (like the Polar bear event in later chapters)
ReplyDeleteI disagree with the statement, pressure doesn't always make the best of situations. Especially you're constantly under said pressure. Going though something horrible doesn't automatically make you tougher, yes it makes you have that experience under your belt and can prepare you for if it ever happens again, but depending on how you go about life and what kind of person you are it could do quite the opposite.
ReplyDelete-Briana Grigg
I agree with your statement that pressure does not always make the best of situations and doesn't always make you together. I think going through certain amounts of pressure can help you be better prepared in the next situation. I think someone's outlook on their situations can also affect how they go on with their lives and how they handle certain situations.
DeleteTo an extent, I agree with Neil. Pressure is one of those things in life that no one can get around or avoid for every situation in their life. Eventually, a person is going to have to face some pressure. People can come out of situations changed for the better by the pressures they face. So, in a way I agree with Neil when he said "Pressure makes us, though..." Every person is different for the amount of pressures they can handle, whether it be social pressures or pressures of keeping a certain job. I think the right amount of pressure can mold a person into someone they never thought they could be. Too much pressure on the other hand can break a person. When a person is overloaded with too much pressure it can make them start to crumble. It's like when there is too much weight is stacked on top of a bridge for so long. Eventually all the pressure will start to make the bridge crumble and fall apart.
ReplyDeleteI do not agree with Neil on that pressure makes perfection. I think this because pressure may be a good driving force to do great things for some people, but pressure is different for everyone. Some people may thrive in high pressure situations, but others may not and it will lead to their downfall in whatever it is they are trying to achieve. Neil should not be putting his own experiences on Nora because he has no idea what she is going through and the amount of trauma that she has experienced in her life.
ReplyDeleteI to some extent agree with Neil, pressure does help to shape us into who we become and act like everyday. Even though it shapes us to be better it also adds extra pressure that can make some people feel as though they can not live up to those expectations. Pressure is both a creator and destroyer of some peoples dreams.
ReplyDeleteThis is similar to what I posted in my answer. I agree that it can have both positive and negative outcomes, depending on the person affected. For example, with me I know that applied pressure makes me better. But there are people I know that could break from the same pressure.
Delete-Charlie Rogers
DeleteI agree with what Neil says, but only to a certain extent. As most people know, pressure is at least slightly necessary to keep your life in balance, and to prepare you for everything you have to face for the rest of your life. In this sense, I can agree with Neil. However, you have to consider that too much pressure can and will hurt you in the long run. People who deal with pressure daily in work or social situations will eventually feel the toll of that weight, whether through mental health struggles or their own physical health.
ReplyDelete-Carson Dill
I definitely agree with you. Pressure is usually a good thing that can bring out the best of us in certain situations, but often pressure at a bad time or too much pressure can hurt, for sure. I like your point about how people that already live in pressure situations can't take much more, putting them at a disadvantage and bringing them closer to being hurt from the pressure.
DeleteFor the most part, I agree with what Neil thinks about pressure, and how it can often have the ability to bring the best out of us in many situations. Finals week, a competitive job application, even sports are all things that pressure can use as a bridge to get to us and work its wonders, and many times help us perform the way we want to. To take Neil's theory further, I think that the beautiful thing about pressure is that we will never have it if we don't put it on ourselves. This is sort of reassuring in a way, because if we want to stay 'safe' from pressure, all we have to do is never put ourselves out there in a way that pressure can get to us. However, a life without risking pressure is not a life worth living. If all we do is sit in our houses and never leave, never go to college, look for a job, or put ourselves out there in any way, we will never grow. Though these things may bring the risk of pressure and stressful times, the reward usually far outweighs the risk. This only adds to the wonder of pressure, as never risking pressure brings a life of nothing, which is pressure in itself, meaning we HAVE to bring ourselves into the realm of pressure if we want to escape pressure. Only by doing this, accepting the pressure, and fighting through it, can we truly experience what Neil is talking about.
ReplyDeleteFor the most part, I agree with what is said pertaining to pressure. Although it may not seem like it at the time, I have found that in my life the applied pressure in life nearly always has a stronger outcome. Once you get to the end of the tribulation, you will look back and have changed for the better no matter what you were put through. With this being said, some people may break during the process. This is from lack of mental strength, but if they were stronger they would too reape the same advantages given by experiencing pressures in life. I believe that any and all pressure offers positives, you just have to be willing to see it through to the very end in order to gain them.
ReplyDeleteThis is Charlie Rogers btw
ReplyDeleteI think that what Neil says does have some merit to it; people need stress to grow and mature, but too much stress can harm far more than it helps. In the case of Nora, growing up with all the stress of being a mistake or never being good enough definitely took a toll on her development. Because of how much stress she was under as a child, she learned to run from stress rather than to embrace it and learn from it. After all that has happened to her, for Neil to tell her that “pressure makes us” and painting that pressure like something everyone needs to embrace it in order to become their ‘perfect’ like a diamond made Nora upset and more isolated than she already was. After Neil brings that up, Nora says that “coal is too impure to become diamond” and maybe that is the ‘real life lesson’ of what Neil said. Nora thinks that she cannot improve because that stress did not make her better, and that she started as coal and will end as such.
ReplyDeleteNeil's comment about pressure in this chapter is agreeable to an extent. I took the statement of pressure making people from coal to diamonds as pressure is a good thing for everyone. Pressure in situations causes most people to stress a little bit or a whole lot and this is good as it will shape you as a person, like Neil was saying. Eventually there is a point that people will break and start to shut down or freeze when the pressure is too much. Either way you look at it, a person will only grow by either learning more about their limits or overcoming the pressure. - Cody Miller
ReplyDeleteNeil's comment about pressure shaping diamonds could be realistic if we all functioned on the same level with one set ambition. I enjoy Nora's internal rebuttal about how coal cannot turn into pure diamond by itself. Which that could be an additional metaphor in itself in that sometimes you may have to endure pressure and accept the imperfect outcome.
ReplyDelete- Sam Ray
Delete