Readers Response: Quiet Strength

Tony Dungy was a man raised by civil parents, with athletic backgrounds. He writes this book in chronological order through him growing up. He starts with his childhood, where he was a big player in high school playing basketball and football. This book was written to inspire young Christian athletes as it has many references to god and the bible. Tony Dungy is a man of character; a “family man” is what I would call it. During games he said if he faced adversity he would think back to what his father taught him and ask himself “Is raising my voice and overreacting going to be helpful in this situation?” I feel like this book is going to be a very good book for me because just in the start I am interested in how he becomes a not very successful quarterback in college to becoming a legend in NFL and what it takes to become the best. This book is going to inspire me to be the quiet but active player I need to be in college football.

Inspiration:

Something that gets me inspired to write is my past life. My past is the one thing I actually get excited to write about because there are so many stories I have to say and so many stories I can tell people but never have. So when I think of something to write about the first thing that pops into my head is my childhood life. The second thing that pops into my mind is my favorite person in the world; my girlfriend. We have had so many memories in the past year and a half that I'm pretty sure I could write a whole novel about how we have choose to live our lives together.

Reading Response: The Hunger Games

My book starts off with a girl whose name is Katniss Evergreen, and she lives in what is called “District 12.” I am not exactly sure how many Districts there are or why they are fenced in by electric wires. There is also this thing they call the “Reaping.” In the book Katniss says “Taking the kids from our districts, forcing them to kill one another while we watch – this is the Capitol’s way of reminding us how totally we are at their mercy.” Based on that quote I assume the reaping is some kind of human sacrifice, but not too sure yet.

The narrator is Katniss; she has a mother who is what they call a “healer,” which is basically just a doctor in reality. She has  younger sister, Prim, who is a baker and loves to spend time with her mother. Katniss on the other hand is the hunter and gatherer. She  seems to know what she is doing because she was taught by her father, who died five years ago from coal mining. District 12 is a an area where you are not supposed to be let out of, they have electrical wiring around the whole area so no one can get out. But Katniss crawls underneath a portion of it to hunt and bring food home so they can survive, as their District is very poor. I have only read through the first 43 pages of this book already but I am very interested in learning what the “Reaping” is about and why they call the book a game!

I am…

a son, the middle child, raised on a steep driveway where playing football was impossible

dark black rubber cleats, shoulder pads and a helmet, where the want to be the best started early,

mighty mights, where the fundamentals was taught by dads  

middle school, where the women flocked around gazing at the little boys in football uniforms

The long restless hours spent in the car traveling back and fourth, and back and fourth, many times from St. Louis and back to Springfield. Every other weekend. I never blamed my father for dragging us along on those car rides, but loved them because it was the only time I actually got to see him in my younger days. All it took was one mistake and it changed his life forever, realized what was important in a near death experience.

high school, the place of memories for me:

I come from “You only get out what you give in, if you don’t put effort in, you won’t ever get anything in return,”  and “If you’re not a rower, you’re a sleeper.”

I come from the time period where you make friends and lose friends, where the drive to be the best kicks in when you see upper classmen being scouted by colleges, where learning the fundamentals and basics was essential to get into college

Where I met the woman to keep me in line for many years to come, we started memories together, memories I would never forget, good and bad. We met sophomore year, and now look at us, senior year going strong.

Every Wednesday the girl and I would plan to hangout, that was our day during the school year, we would work on homework together, study, go on runs, or just simply lay and watch some tv with the fam. It was always the day to look forward to.

Work, oh how waking up every day and knowing you have to work a 6 hour shift after being at school for 7 long drooling hours, that got old real fast.

I am the future, the new me, smarter and wiser I hope.