Optimism, Determination, and Adversity Theme Analysis

My Beloved World follows the life of Associate Justice of the Supreme Court Sonia Sotomayor from her impoverished childhood in housing projects in the Bronx; through college at Princeton and law school at Yale; and ultimately, to her appointment to a federal judgeship at 38 years old. Throughout her memoir, Sotomayor attributes her remarkable achievements to her enduring sense of optimism and her unwavering willingness to work hard in the face of adversity. While she acknowledges that there are lots of reasons why a person might not be able to achieve the kind of success she’s enjoyed, she nevertheless makes the case that to achieve one’s dreams, one much approach life with a combination of optimism and determination.

Sotomayor is upfront about the fact that she believes her own optimistic nature is both an innate personality trait and a reaction to adverse circumstances as a child. To illustrate this, Sotomayor opens her memoir with the story of being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at age seven. At the time of her diagnosis in 1962, diabetes was essentially a death sentence, so it only intensified Sotomayor’s already fraught home life. But rather than helplessly listen to her parents fight about who was going to give her the insulin shot, the young Sotomayor took matters into her own hands and learned how to administer the shot herself. Sotomayor then explains how her parents’ constant fighting, fueled by her Papi’s alcoholism, made her constantly vigilant and instilled in her a sense of independence and self-preservation. From an early age, she learned to treat everything—from a scary health diagnosis, to difficulties at school or fighting parents—as a problem to solve. This framing is something she holds onto throughout her life, as it’s one that enables her to frame adversity in a way that feels more manageable and approachable.

However, Sotomayor also points out that her success cannot be attributed simply to her optimism and her proclivity for problem solving; rather, there’s also an element of luck—and it’s necessary to accept help from others. When Papi dies two years after Sotomayor’s diagnosis, her home life changes dramatically and becomes infinitely more supportive and less stressful. After a stern talking-to from Sotomayor, Mami throws herself into her work and taking care of her children, which allows Sotomayor to focus on doing well in school. This, Sotomayor acknowledges, was a major stroke of luck—one that not all children experience especially after the death of a parent. Sotomayor has been so successful thanks to these strokes of luck and the fact that Mami has consistently supported her daughter.

Additionally, Sotomayor recognizes the value of intentionally putting herself in difficult situations so she can practice and improve, something she does most notably when she takes her first post-law school job at the New York City DA’s office. There, everything is difficult—the nature and sheer volume of the work means that new hires must figure out how to navigate via a combination of trial and error (when they’re on their own in front of a judge) and by asking for help from more experienced individuals in the office whenever they can. During this time, however, Sotomayor discovers that part of retaining one’s optimistic outlook means being able to look at one’s life and identify areas that are hindering that outlook—which in this case, happens to be the job itself. As a prosecutor, Sotomayor has to approach every case she takes as though every defendant is guilty. And though they often are, she ultimately realizes that this outlook makes her cynical and cold to the people around her. Thus, Sotomayor concludes that sheer determination isn’t always enough—one must balance their determination by organizing their life, to the greatest extent possible, in such a way as to preserve their mental health and sense of optimism.

As Sotomayor dives into the various qualities and circumstances that helped propel her to success, she also considers why some people in her position struggle—and for the most part, she suggests that tenacity and the willingness to work tirelessly is the one thing that sets her apart from others. Her most frequent comparison is to her same-age cousin, Nelson, who she describes as the smarter and luckier one when they were children; Sotomayor envied his involved father and his healthier family situation, and Abuelita loved both her and Nelson more than her other grandchildren. However, this didn’t stop Nelson from getting involved with drugs in high school, dropping out of every college program he tried, and ultimately dying from one of the first identified cases of HIV contracted through sharing needles. How, Sotomayor asks, could someone as poised for success as Nelson succumb to such an avoidable fate? Though Sotomayor acknowledges that there are a variety of reasons or circumstances beyond an individual’s control that make success less likely, Nelson suggests plainly that his intelligence wasn’t enough to guarantee success when he didn’t have the desire to sit down and apply himself to his studies or a job. With this, Sotomayor makes it clear that being successful in life and being able to tackle adversity isn’t as simple as just being optimistic or just having supportive family to offer encouragement. Rather, people have a greater chance of success when they have the drive to apply themselves to whatever task is in front of them.