A Wise Man Named Abe

Whatever you are, be a good one. -Abraham Lincoln

There has been a long standing debate as to who is the best president in the history of the United States. One name that is sure to pop-up often is that of Abraham Lincoln.

Lincoln was born February 12, 1809 in Kentucky. His father left when Lincoln was eight and his mother died when he was ten. He lived in a wild place where many wild animals would bother him making it a difficult place to live. He knew how to read and write but not much else than that. 

He tirelessly pursued knowledge his entire life, despite working on a farm. 

Later in life he moved to Illinois and there he spent eight years in the Illinois legislature. In 1860 he won the Republican nomination for President.

As almost everyone knows, he played a major role in the Civil War and after it concluded he did his best to settle everyone down. One of his most powerful and memorable speeches is the Gettysburg Address. He was eventually murdered by John Wilkes Booth on April 14, 1865 in Ford's Theater.

Abraham Lincoln is well known for speaking wisely on many topics. In fact it was his ability to speak that probably won him the presidency, but it was also his knowledge. In the quote that I provided above, he is voicing an opinion that really speaks to me. It says that no matter what someone does or what they want to do, they need only be good at it. 

That is not to say that if someone wants to be a serial killer that it's fine as long as they are good at it. But it says that if someone wants to be a writer, but their dad wants them to be an engineer they only need to be good at writing and pursue that career path.

This also speaks another moral, which is that you should pursue what you love because what you love is almost always what you are good at. If you love dancing and want to dance when you are older, then do it even if someone tells you that you won't succeed or shouldn't try. If what you love isn't necessarily what you are good at, that's fine because in your pursuit of  this goal you will get better and most likely become very good at it.

Abraham Lincoln was a great President. He showed it in his actions, but he also showed it in his words. His words were what moved a nation and they still speak loud and clear to us today.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As usual, if you feel like I left something out or if you have another opinion feel free to leave a comment.

Now go forth, and nerd.