Essay Sample on Success is No Stranger to Struggles: The Story of Emine Sevgi Ozdamar

Introduction

Every success story has its struggles is a slogan used to define the ups and downs one underwent to become successful. The life journey of Emine Sevgi Ozdamar is one the highly reflects on the norms and standards of "the American dream." Born on August 10, 1946, Malatya Turkey, Ozdamar, was brought up under the guidance of her grandparents in Turkish cities Istanbul and Bursa. To be close to her brother, who studied in Switzerland, in 1965, she traveled to Germany for the first time. Finding it difficult to migrate to Switzerland, her journey towards success began when finding work at a German factory.

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Being a very willed and self-confident lady, Ozdamar convinced her parents to let turn her talent of acting and performing the play as a means to see her brother. Besides, she was never useful in Germany, and the language barrier was a significant issue, but her sheer will to master and learn the German language began by her memorizing the street names and headlines of the newspapers without understanding their meaning. The same will and determination made her parents pay for her linguistic lessons. Knowing that her chances of becoming a successful actor were dismal in Germany, she took the initiative to return to Turkey, where she was successful and got her first essential roles in the theater-industry.

A political coup in Turkey made Ozdamar select Germany a nation that experienced the liberty of speech than her native land, preparing to relocate and fall in love with German literature, which became a pillar to her future success. While in Germany, her fame was noticed after assuming the role of director assistant for the Volksbuhne in East Berlin. She got her inspiration from exceptional figures such as Bertolt Brecht; thus, making her explore the literal scope by establishing and publishing a series of short stories termed Mother-tongue ("Mutterzunge"). It was through these stories that Ozdamar rebuked Turkish feminine identity by exploring the lives of Turkish women residing in Germany.

Next, her series of novels, "Life is a Caravanserai: Have Two Doors I Went in One Come out of the Other," earned her high recognition for Turkish identity, individually, that of a child and an adolescent. Moreover, it highlighted how domestic migration was a norm in Turkey, and how employment was a significant issue and finally departed to Germany to achieve "The American dream." The second novel, "The Bridge of the Golden Horn," stated where the last had ended, making the series a journey of the Turkish origin in pursuit of greener pastures. It also highlights her employment journey, theater life, as well as how the identity of Turkish born individuals lost their status after becoming German citizens. Majorly, her works reflected on her life and how a humble, intelligent, and determined immigrant rose to become a success.

Conclusion

To conclude, Ozdamar's life is a written piece of great success. Indeed, she was a Turkish immigrant residing in Germany, but the only means of overcoming all her obstacles was through her intelligence as well as calculated ambition of using her talent of acting to achieve their goals, for example, she used theater to have access to her brother who was studying in Switzerland and act of mastering to gain interest in learning German language as well getting access to a right tutoring school.