Adeline: The Tragedy Of Personal Suffering

Mother Teresa once said, “Let us touch the dying, The poor, the lonely and the unwanted according to the graces we have received and let us not be ashamed or slow to do humble work.” Mother Teresa's words of wisdom apply to Adeline because she was lonely and unwanted. Loneliness is the feeling of being unwanted. And being unwanted is the most terrible poverty of all. Many people perceive poverty as the state of lacking financial wealth. But, Adeline's story demonstrates another type of poverty; the tragedy of emotional poverty and the devastation of personal suffering.
Adeline was unwanted, neglected and abused by her family. They constantly discarded her and tried to get rid of her. Adeline’s family treated her as if she was not worthy of their time, love and attention. School was her way to escape the suffering. But, it was always just a temporary relief, and always waiting for her the moment school was over “After school was let out in the early afternoon I waited with all the other first graders. I was the only one left. Nobody had come for me.” Being forgotten was a minor cruelty, compared to the physical abuse she endured; “He ordered me to lie face down on my bed and he wiped me.” Adeline’s life was filled with emotional and physical abuse that resulted in great personal …show more content…
And in life, we all need to go after our goals and never let the “emotional vampires” block us from achieving them. Life is too short to sit back and wait for things to change...You have to be the catalyst for change in your own life. Adeline fought her way through challenges and obstacles to eventually achieve her goals. She overcame the life of emotional poverty she was born into, She let it shape her, make her strong, but not define her. She channeled the pain and suffering to fuel her educational passion and achieve her goal of graduating from college. She is a role model for