Frederick Douglass taught himself to read and write, a very difficult skill to acquire as a slave. Because of his incredible intelligence, he seized the opportunity to impart his wisdom to others in a Sabbath school for his fellow slaves. He made many of the strongest friendships of his life and certainly accumulated many happy memories while taking advantage of this opportunity. He also had the opportunity to help his fellow slaves escape by making fake letters from their master as an excuse for being so far from home. Peter Randolph, the former slave who argued that slavery was oppressive, used the opportunity to educate others with his knowledge and experience of life as a slave. He courageously refuted pro-slavery advocates like Nehemiah Adams and brought the truth to the entire country. All of this happened while taking advantage of the opportunity to pursue a valuable education. The “freedom writers” demonstrated that education offers many opportunities. Students imagine that they are continuing their university studies; most of them were not even expected to graduate. Through Miss Erin Gruwell's guidance and education, she has provided these students with the opportunity for extremely bright futures. Not only did their reading scores improve, but they also gained confidence not to give up.