The Blind Side

The story of Michael Ohre is shocking to many people. Michael Ohre has been an inspiration to me. He has overcome many different obstacles throughout his life and made something of himself. If it weren’t for the Tuohy family Michael may not have made it to where he is today. The movie “The Blind Side” and the ABC news story ‘The Blind Side’: How Michael Oher Made It, have a few similarities and differences. Also, my mother can relate to Michaels story as well. After interviewing my mom I found out information that relates to “The Blind Side” story and inspired me in many different ways.

After watching the movie “The Blind Side”, which is one of my favorite movies, I found Michael Ohre’ story to be an inspiration to me. I think that what the Tuohy family did was very brave and sincere. It took a brave women to do what Leigh Anne Tuohy did. Opening up her house to Michael when she knew nothing about him was very risky. For example, when Leigh Anne went out for lunch with her high life friends, the topic of Michael came up. The main concern was the color of his race and the question was “aren’t you scared with a colored man living in your house around your kids.” As soon as this was said Leigh Anne had enough will power to get up and walk away stating that they should be ashamed of themselves. Leigh Anne held her ground and never let people get to her about her situation with Michael moving into her house.
After reading the ABC news report on ‘The Blind Side’: How Michael Oher Made It, I realized there were differences and similarities between this article and the movie. One of which “ I would have dreams all the time about me playing in the NFL,” Michael stated. This may be true, but in the actual film I feel like it was shown in a way that Michael was athletic but football was not his main concern. In the movie, they showed Michael playing basketball. When Michael was brought to the football field, he did not know what he was doing. They showed his football career progress. Another difference between the article and the movie was when Michael stated that he went absent for 51 days from Westwood High School, and how he had been to 11 schools in nine years. This was not shown in the movie. In the movie it showed how he had got into Briarcrest Christian School, and how he had to work really hard. Luckily, one teacher in particular took real interest in Michael and reached out to help him.
  Relating to Michael Oher’s story, I interviewed my mom who can relate. I asked her a few questions about how her story was similar. She told me a story about when she was a little girl. Her mother, who is my grandma, took in her good friend’s daughter. My grandma’s friend was a single mother raising an 8 year old girl at the time. She had a drinking and drug addiction problem and her daughter being around her mother was not okay. I asked my mom how she felt once the little girl moved in and she responded with “at first I was uncomfortable and didn’t know how to react, but after a few days I opened myself up more to her.” This relates to the Tuohy family in the situation where they took in Michael. My mother told me that they only took the girl in for a few months. Once my grandma’s friend started looking out for herself, and got her life together, the little girl went back to her mom. I also asked my mom how she left once the girl left. “I was sad when she left. You get to know someone and you start to build a connection with them and then next thing you know, they are up and gone” my mother stated. She talked about how she became really close and treated the girl as if she was part of the family. She spoke about how my grandma doesn’t like to talk about the situation very much, and almost covers up the memories like they didn’t happen.
All though my mother’s experience was different than Michael Oher’s they do relate in a way. Both families took in a child to benefit them. In the end, it was worth it. Michael ended up living a dream, and the little girl who lived with my mother, was protected from seeing something she may not have wanted to see. It was beneficially for her as well as her mother. After reading about Michael Ohre’s journey, and hearing about my mother’s experience with the little girl they took in, makes me happy to know that there are people out there who do care.

Take It For What It Is

A statement can be perceived in many different ways.  To believe, or not to believe.  It was as simple as that.  People usually jump to conclusion andbelieve everything that they hear.  Whether it is coming from a family member, or a close community the truth is not always what we get.

Banks (1986) writes that, “My mother tells me stories about her past, and I don’t believe them, I interpret them”(p.174).  Bank’s couldn’t have stated Earl, the narrator’s relationship with his mother any better.  At that, his father.  Little lies such as being the female lead role in the Catamount High School play had been told to Earl.  His mother stated that Sonny Tufts was the male lead who she turned down for his father who she had been in love with.  She talked about the party she and her husband had thrown only to find out a girl there was found dead the next morning.  The story was kept a secret according to Earl’s mother. His mother wanted to have a story to make her son feel good about himself.  His parents wanted to make themselves to be more than they were.  Deep down Earl knew this wasn’t the truth but never said anything to his mother.

Alcohol was the topper to the lies that occurred through Earl’s father.  Bank’s (1986) writes “My father, a depressed cynical alcoholic”(p.175).  Alcohol was the reason for his father’s death.  He drank his life away.  All though his father died, Earl did not miss him.  He was not missed because he had not been a huge part of Earl’s life.

 Relating to Earl’s story about his mother and her lies, I can somewhat relate.  Remember back years ago when I was little I remember my aunt always lying to me.  She is also an alcoholic who would lie consistently.  She was always in such denial about her addiction.  I remember her being someone I looked up to in my life.  She was supposed to be a role model to me.  I remember her telling me stories, to make herself seem like a better person than she really was.  I would ask my mom if some of her stories were true.  Come to find out, they were mostly lies.  She was a single mother raising two kids on her own.  Not only was alcohol an issue in her case, but she was also severely depressed, leading her to vent to alcohol.  Looking back, my aunt was so wrapped up in her life that just about everything told to me, and my cousin was a lie.  She was so sick with this disease that I thought alcohol was going be the death of her.  Gladly, she is still alive and is now working towards getting better for herself and her family.

In Earl’s case, only once did he take the time to listen closely to a story his father told.  His father explained to him how he was named after Uncle Earl.  The story of Uncle Earl was taken seriously.  Bank’s (1986) writes, “He died a few years later, fell into a snowbank.  Passed out.  Froze to death” (p.175).  Earl listened to the story so clearly because she thought the story was about him.  Come to find out Uncle Earl had never been heard of in the family.  The one story Bank’s listened to, he found out was made up. 

Relating to the stories, and lies that Earl states I can relate to.  Neighborhood wise, lies play a big role in my area.  I come from a neighborhood where everyone knows everyone’s business.  At times I feel like there could almost be a reality show about it.  The girls love the drama, and the men take it all in.  It is almost like a desperate housewives episode.  Due to the fact that everyone knows everyone’s business it leads to many rumors.  Most of what is heard is a lie.  I feel like people hear a story, and then twist it around to make it seem a lot juicier.  Regarding the story, Earl’s parents would make up stories to make themselves out to be much more than they really were.  They were trying to impress Earl.

Overall, the narrator made it clear that in the end Earl realized everything was one big lie.  Earl learned to listen in on a story, even if it wasn’t all the truth, as do I.  Sometimes all you have to do is listen.  There are people out there that tell nothing but lies, and you just have to take it for what it is.

Gender Selection Causes Gender Imbalance

Gender selection not only messes with peoples beliefs in society, but also will eventually cause gender imbalance in the United States.  If people start to take advantage of this new trend that is an issue in China it will become a problem in the United States.  Gender selection occurs when parents choose what gender they want their child to be.  This not only messes with the religious beliefs, but also will end up causing an imbalance in society.

Gender selection occurs when a couple decides what gender they want their baby.  This is an issue that is occurring in China right now.  In China, gender selection works differently than is does in the United States.  If a couple does not end up with the gender they want, they will kill the child.  In China, finding out the gender of your baby is banned, but this does not stop people from still finding out.  Finding out the gender of your baby leads to abortion which is also illegal but does occur in underground parts of China. In the United States there is a process that woman can go through called Pre-implantation Genetic Diagnosis.  This is when your eggs are taken and are biologically looked into to see what the gender of your baby is.  Eventually, they are then put into your ovaries and the female is then impregnated.  The cost of this is very high as well which causes people to think twice about the decision they are about to make (Reproductive Genetics Institute).

Males are of dominance and are over populating China.  One reason males are looked upon so highly is because they are to carry on the family line, work the land, and support themselves in their old age.  Males were also traditionally viewed as more valuable ("China's Gender Imbalance 'likely to Get Worse”).  Males being of such importance will become problem because by the end of the decade, more than 24 million males will end up without a bride (BBC News).  "The chance of getting married will be rare if a man is more than 40-years-old in the countryside. They will be more dependent on social security as they age and have fewer household resources to rely on."- Wang Guangzhou.  A problem that could eventually occur is that inter-generational marriages could occur.  This is where a wife would be older than her husband. 

In the United States, most people have different beliefs on different issues.  But I feel that natural selection pregnancy is the right choice.  Having gender selection messes with morals and is not the way of life.  God created men and women equally in the world.  All though the United States has not taken gender selection to an extreme extent, I still feel that it is wrong and is messing with the typical natural selection.  The issue occurring in China could eventually become a problem for our country.  All though the United States does not have a gender imbalance problem, having gender selection could eventually cause this.

One way to solve this issue in China and to make sure it does not occur in the United States is to enforce laws better.  I feel that if they changed the one child law in China to as many as a family wanted would decrease the gender imbalance issue.  Another way to fix this problem would be to completely ban abortion so that girl’s could have a chance in the world.  I feel that gender selection is not safe and should be banned in the United States.  Eventually, this new trend will slowly start getting taken advantage of and gender imbalance will become a huge issue in our society.

Hopefully the United States can look at the issue that is occurring in China and realize what could possibly happen to the United States if we don’t do something about gender selection.  It is a sad that baby girls are being killed in China in order to have a male continue the family name.  Not only is gender selection just an imbalance issue but it is not the way of life and having natural selection is why men and women are equally created.  As time goes by, gender selection in the United States will eventually become an issue if we do not do something about it early on.