Hardship

Hardship, meaning difficulty or trouble, may refer to the following:

• hardship clause in contract law
• undue hardship in employment law and other areas
• extreme hardship in immigration law
• hardship post in a foreign service

After years of living in the harsh region, Ivan became rough, tough, hard to bluff, and extremely used to hardship.

He was large, muscular, and able to chop down a fully grown Siberian pine tree with one swing of his axe. This came in handy as Ivan had to chop down many trees to be used as firewood so his wife and children could stay warm. Everyday, starting at 4am and ending 10pm, Ivan would leave his home and begin chopping down every tree he came across. He would then haul the trees back home where he would chop them into firewood.

It was hard work, and didn’t leave him much time with his family. However Ivan didn’t mind it too much because he was rough, tough, hard to bluff, and extremely used to hardships.

Ivan’s work routine went along uninterrupted for a few years, until one day Russian government officials showed up at Ivan’s home. They were mad at Ivan for chopping down a large portion of the Siberian Forest, a natural beauty that is loved by the entire country. They demanded that Ivan stopped chopping down the forest so that Russia could continue to boast the region’s vast beauty.

Ivan was not intimidated by the Russian government, after all he was rough, tough, hard to bluff, and extremely used to hardships. So Ivan continued his routine of chopping down more and more of the forest.

The same government officials came back a month later, this time with a squad of Russian soldiers. They were furious that Ivan didn’t follow their command, and wanted to punish him for his actions against the state. So at gun point, Ivan was drafted into the Russian navy, where he would be far away from his wife, children, and the Siberian forest.

This punishment was severe, and very painful for Ivan. He would no longer be able to care for his family, and being at sea made him feel uneasy. But he didn’t try to get out of his punishment for he was rough, tough, hard to bluff and extremely used to hardships. He just wanted to serve his time in the navy and then go back to his family.

Ivan was assigned to a large battleship, and was posted to an observations chair on the ship’s tallest mast. The waters he patrolled were rough, and Ivan would get very seasick from the ship constantly swaying side to side.

One day, Ivan’s battleship was caught in a terrible storm that caused everyone on board to panic. The ship rocked violently in all directions, but Ivan refused to leave his post on the mast. He held on as tightly as he could until a giant wave smashed against the side of the ship, and Ivan was thrown from his post to the deck below.

Ivan’s body had made a large crater in the battleship’s hull, causing massive damage. All of Ivan’s comrades on board saw the crater with Ivan at the center, and immediately assumed the worst. Then suddenly, Ivan stood up and climbed out of the crater, leaving all the sailors around him in disbelief.

“Ivan! How could you have survived a fall from that height?”

“It was nothing comrades, I am rough, tough, hard to bluff, and extremely used to hard ships.”