Obstacle 1: Opinions
Opinions can ruin anybody’s confidence. Once, I dressed up in my new shirt, but a girl came up to me and said, “Your shirt is so ugly!’’ After that I grabbed my jacket and zipped it up tight. I really thought the shirt looked nice, but one person’s opinion destroyed the confidence I had that day. In the Odyssey, Circe told Odysseus that all his men will perish. If Odysseus told his men about Circe’s opinion about Odysseus’s men then they could have tried to live longer, learn from their mistakes and be a little more careful. Obstacle 2: Bullies
Bullying is now seen worldwide and has stripped away every ounce of confidence one person might have possessed. I’ve experienced many years of being bullied and my self-esteem has evaporated. Many people can’t handle the effects of bullying so they call on a greater force to help stop it such as a god, a teacher or parents. The Odyssey has a great example of bullies like when Odysseus taunted the Cyclops while escaping. The Cyclops felt weak because he was defeated by a puny mortal. The Cyclops had to call upon his father, Poseidon, for help to destroy Odysseus and his men. Obstacle 3: Society (Media)
The social media has conducted itself to make everyone believe that beauty is created with adding pounds of makeup and prancing around like a Victoria Secret Model. Cover Girl has changed its slogan to ‘’Easy, Breezy, Better’’ instead of the classic ‘’Easy, Breezy, Beautiful.’’ This is a simple example of how society is changing the way ‘beauty’ is seen and breaking down every girl and boys’ confidence including mine. In comparison to The Odyssey, Odysseus believes he has to be tough like when he saw his dead mother in the underworld. He didn’t cry because he wanted to stay strong and continue to find Tiresias. Obstacle 4: Influences (Peer pressure)
Influences can only lead to bad decisions. Many of my friends have influenced me to try new things such as a different style. But, it didn’t suit me so I chose my own thing. Odysseus’s men have a habit of drinking and while under the influence they’d make bad choices. Eurylochus, one of Odysseus’s men, told everybody that dying of hunger is