Overcoming Life

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his English class. Towards the end of the semester, all he needed was to get his English class to a B and he would be able to play. His mom went and talked to the teacher and asked him what they should do. His teacher said that there is a final essay worth a third of the grade, so if he did well on it he might pass. Michael’s dad mentioned a poem to him about the valley of death, saying that he should write his essay on it. Michael wrote his paper and it read, “Courage is a hard thing to figure. You can have courage based on a dumb idea or a mistake, but you’re not supposed to question adults, or your coach, or your teacher because they make the rules. Maybe they know best but maybe they don’t. It all depends on who you are, where you come from. Didn’t at least one of the six hundred guys think about giving up and joining with the other side? I mean, Valley of Death, that’s pretty salty stuff. That’s why courage is tricky. Should you always do what others tell you to do? Sometimes you might not even know why you’re doing something. I mean, any fool can have courage. But honor, that’s the real reason you either do something or you don’t. It’s who you want to be. If you die trying for something important then you have both honor and courage and that’s pretty good. I think that’s what the writer was saying; that you should try for courage and hope for honor. And maybe even pray that the people telling you what to do have some, too.” His English teacher was inspired by this, and at the end of the year Michael graduated with a 2.53 GPA. He could play football. This is another example of how Michael overcame his problems and took control to achieve his goal. It took a lot of hard work but he succeeded in the end. With impossible odds he got his grades up, which further develops the movie’s theme of overcoming obstacles.

From the beginning, Michael had nothing. He had no family and no home. He only had the clothes on his back and barely enough food to eat. This is how he grew up as a kid, with nothing. Suddenly all of this changed and he found a family. They were the exact opposite as Michael. They were rich, owned a giant house, and could get anything they ever wanted. Michael had to change his lifestyle and his way of thinking to be able to handle all of this. His new mom bought him a new bed, and everything he needed and made the guest room his own room. When she shows Michael the bed, he reveals to the audience that he had never had a bed before. This scene shows that Michael has never had anything of his own. He used to this, but now he has to overcome this thought of having nothing and realize he now has a family that cares about him. The American Psychological Association said “Lifestyle changes are a process that take time and require support. Once you’re ready to make a change, the difficult part is committing and following through. So do your research and make a plan that will prepare you for success. Careful planning means setting small goals and taking things one step at a time.” This means that it will take Michael sometime to fully adapt to this new lifestyle and he will need the help from his new family to do so, which his family does very well.

The movie The Blind Side sends the message that overcoming obstacles is possible with perseverance and support. Michael is adjusting to his new life and has grown from the poor boy no one knew about to who he is now. All in all, Michael had many goals and obstacles that he overcame, including his new life setting, his football playing skills, and his grades. He uses the help from his friends and family to achieve these goals, and is now one of the world’s most successful football players.

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