LIFESTYLE | October 11th, 2019 8:09 AM

Humans are capable of some amazing things when we put our minds to it. Not long ago we thought the four-minute mile was impossible, but today my three-year-old niece can finish the Boston marathon in third place after only six months of grueling training. Similarly, until last week, most physiologists believed that it was impossible for a person to experience tribulations in isolation from trials; however, Anna Kelly, a convenience store clerk from Cork, Ireland, has proven them all wrong.

For years, it has been widely known that it is possible to experience trials on their own, from criminal trials and clinical trials to time trials and trial and error, and the lack of reciprocity was attributed to the scientific axiom, “You can take the boy out of the country, but you can’t take the country out of the boy.” This has been the prevailing theory for centuries, so, unsurprisingly, many traditional adversitologists challenge the validity of Kelly’s self-reported tribulations. They allege that Kelly sought to undergo her tribulations, which would technically classify her experiences not as tribulations but as voluntary hardships.

Kelly’s feat has also captured the interest of Christian eschatologists, who say the isolated tribulations are a sign of the Great Tribulation, which coincides with the Second Coming of Jesus and the End Times.

With the amount of debate circling the issue, the situation demands a thorough investigation, which may gain an added layer of complexity as the Brexit deadline looms.