The Michael Oher Story: The Blind Side

     Could you imagine growing up with many brothers and sisters and being separated from all of them with a mother who is on drugs and a father who is no where to be found? Or maybe living from home to home each day having to wear the same clothes over and over again because you’re too young who lacks a job and cant afford new ones? Well these are just a few of the many struggles Michael Oher had to face as a child. He was a homeless child with little or no money and family but with a big dream. Although I cant relate to the story of Michael Oher I know someone who can. A cousin of mines faced many challenges in her life similar to Michaels. She grew up in an abusive house hold and was told she would result to nothing in her life. But because she kept her head held high and her dreams in mind she grew up to be a very successful doctor. Like my cousin Oher faced many challenges as a child but he never gave up and worked for what he wanted which is why it paid off and in the end he began to live out his dream.

            Michael Oher is a very famous football star but it wasn’t always this way for him. He grew up with a mother on drugs no father and no home or money to survive. But as time went on he was blessed with a family that took him in and cared for him as if he was their own. With the love and support from Michaels new family he finally was able to began the reach for his dream to attend college and one day become a NFL star. Michael Oher’s story was so amazing that in November of 2009 a movie had come out into theaters about Michael life story. I enjoyed watching the movie but I also read an article on his life and there were many similarities and differences between the two.

            In the Movie Oher seemed as if he didn’t know anything about football. In fact they made it seem like he was really bad at football when he first began playing. But in the article when Michael and the Tuohy family were interviewed Oher stated that He knew football very well and everyday he woke up he dreamed about playing football. The movie also made it seem like after sleeping in the school gym with no place to stay Michael moved in with the Tuohy family and stayed with them all the time. But in the article they state how Michael would stay with their family some days and other times he wouldn’t. And that was until he was invited to stay with them permanently. Also in the movie they showed how Michaels grades were really low and needed to rise so he could get into a good college, so they hired a tutor for him. But they didn’t show how before they hired a Tutor Collins Tuohy who is also Michaels age tutored him for a while and even scheduled classes so they could have them together  so they would be on the same page learning the same material.

            Although the movie switched up a few facts there were also many things that they did mention that were very true. Such as how Michael and Sean Tuohy Jr. were best friends from the start and how Sean Jr. would introduce Michael as his big brother. In the movie it also states how Henderson the man who Michael stayed with from time to time went to the Christian school to enroll his son in and brought Michael along with him which is how Michael got into the school and was introduced to the Touhy family.  They also mention in the movie how after staying with the Touhy family for some time Christmas came around and he took a family photo and Leigh Anne’s (the mother of the family) Cousin called and asked why there was a big black boy in the photo. Although this was mentioned in the movie they didn’t state how that comment really did bother Michael and it took a while for Leigh Anne to feel Michaels returning affection.

            My cousin is one who can relate to Michael Oher’s story. As a child my cousine was rapped and lived in a very abusive household. Her step father beat and rapped her often and she had no one to come to because her mother didn’t believe anything she was saying. Her mother knew he was abusive because he beat her to but she said ‘I can never picture the love of my life wanting anything with you”. My cousin felt alone with no one to protect her. Along with all those worries she had a younger sister who she had to protect and care for. My cousin’s mother told her she would result to nothing in life and although that hurt her very much she didn’t let it stop her from reaching her dreams. As my cousin grew up, her and her younger sister moved in with my grandmother and she took very good care of them. With the love and support from my grandmother my cousin finished high school and went on to the University of Illinois to become a very successful doctor.

            As you can see Michael Oher and my cousin faced many of the same challenges in life. They started off with no family to turn to and ended up being taken in by those who truly love and appreciated them. With those things in their life it made their dreams that much easier to reach. And in the end Michael Oher is living out his dream of being a NFL star and my cousin is living out her dream of being a successful doctor. Love and Family is something very important in a Childs life, weather it is from their biological parents or just from someone who took them in. If you have someone who believes in you the impossible somehow become possible in your life, and they are the perfect example for this.