Kill You Makes You Stronger: 'A Plague

¶ … Kill You Makes You Stronger: 'A Plague of Ticks' The phrase 'what doesn't kill you makes you stronger' is used to demonstrate that an individual is shaped by the experiences they go through in life, and that it is these experiences that make them tougher and stronger. It is the ability to bounce back and be determined that counts because success does not come easy; Donald Trump is a demonstration that even the most successful of persons did not achieve success at first attempt.

Their determination, however, sees them through the rough times and gets them where they desire to be. David Sedaris, in his essay 'the Plague of Pigs' demonstrates how he dealt with the embarrassing tics he had in his childhood and teenage years. He depicts how the hypocrisy of the people around him tormented him.

He grew up trying to separate himself from his mind because his mind had so much control over him, yet everyone blamed him and no one seemed to understand that he was simply unable to control his mind and that it was beyond him. Despite the fact that he hated his mind, Sedaris understood himself. He, however, could not comprehend how the minds of the people around him worked.

He, for instance, failed to understand why his math teacher thought of coming over to lick the light switch at his home, yet she had one at her place; why his mother had to use jokes and exaggerations to impress her visitors; and why his father tried to stop him from doing certain things, yet he (his father) had the freedom to do whatever he pleased.

Sedaris understood his tics and found nothing wrong in doing them; first because they were occasioned by his mind's orders, and secondly, because unlike other people's actions - such as that of his father slamming him into a windshield and his mother pretending to forget her children's name whenever a visitor was around, his tics did not hurt anyone. On realizing that he would never get rid of his mind, Sedaris makes a point of not only accepting, but also incorporating the dark aspects of his mind into his life.

He begins by linking his rocking habit to a possible liking for dancing, and then dressing in a manner that is representative of this. This, however, fails to win society's appreciation and he embarks on incorporating his tics into his life through drinking, drug abuse, and smoking which although frowned upon, are considered 'normal' by society. Sedaris deals with his embarrassing tics through four phases. He begins by denying and trying to separate himself from them by trying to make his mother believe that his math teacher was wrong.

When that fails, he chooses to accept his tics but then fails at first attempt, after which he begins to make excuses for his strange behavior.