text: how does my essay sound so far? “the world esteems and respects the courage of ideas and the force of virtue” (palmer 62).  much like his quote, pope john paul ii was righteous and well revered, evident in the multitudes of crowds who flocked to see him each year. pope john paul ii has led an extraordinary life which can be seen in his childhood, education, adult life, and accomplishments.  born on may 18, 1920 in the small polish town of wadowice, karol jozef wojtyla was destined to do great things from the early years of his life. being encouraged by his parents to work hard, at school wojtlyla was both an excellent student and an athlete. although he did not have a particularly smooth childhood, wojtyla’s incredible motivation could be seen all his life. even when his mother and brother both died before karol turned 12, he remained strong and persistent.  through all his hardships as a young boy, as a student karol was determined to learn and well disciplined. as a scholar, wojtyla had a passion for theater and would also partake in literary discussion groups and poetry readings. by the time karol was ordained the 264th pope of the vatican, he had learned to speak 9 languages fluently while he began studying spanish. good job