The Book I'm focusing on is The Blind Side, by Michael Lewis.
"And yet, without outside intervention even his talent would quite likely have been thrown away. Michael Oher would have become just another big fat man: Big Mike. If Michael Oher's talent could be missed, who's couldn't? Those poor black kids were like left tackles: people whose value was hidden in plain sight."(322)
... The fact that Michael Oher remained positive throughout his journey to the NFL is amazing, when you consider how many obstacles he had to overcome. Michael Oher would probably had a good relationship with Winston Churchill if they could have met one another; because they both had to use optimism to overcome their problems (Micheal's parental and neighborhood problems, Churchill's struggles with wars). Michael Oher came up raised in the streets, with family problems all around. His mother Denise was strung out on cocaine, and his father Michael Sr. was in and out of prison all throughout Michael Oher's childhood. Due to his many problems at home and the poor environment that he was raised in; he had trouble getting a solid education, failing grades many times and had around a 0.76 GPA (Grade Point Average) in high school. With all of his problems in life; it's amazing that he didn't wind up like other kids from his neighborhood, selling drugs or getting into fights. Everything he grew up with was preaching pessimism; from his mother struggling with her drug addiction, to his dad's troubles with the law, to his friends dealing drugs in his ghetto. Since all of his past and present looked bleak and pessimistic, it's inspiring that he was able to persevere and get his scholarship to Ole Miss. The quote above me talks about how people just like Michael Oher could end up like some of his relatives, or his friends. If Leigh Anne and Sean Thohy didn't step in and help Michael, he probably would've ended up like many left tackles: people whose value was hidden in plain sight. When pessimism is the only road you can turn to, it's very tough to persevere without role models and people to help you....
