Timothy McGuire
English 1109 @ 1:30, M-W
10/21/2020
Journal Six by Tim McGuire
The first takeaway I took from the book is willingness to change. In the beginning of this book, we see that Clarett is about the party lifestyle and hustling. He really doesn’t see a problem with that since that’s how he grew up. His brothers and friends were doing it so that’s what he was doing. Then Clarett went to prison, that’s when his willingness to change started. He realized if he kept his lifestyle up, he could get into even more trouble. So, he decided to change for his family so he could be there for his daughter. In prison there were peopling still hustling and selling drugs and alcohol. But Clarett stayed focused to his willingness to change and now he’s an excellent role model for many kids.
The second takeaway I took from the book is the influence that peer pressure can do on someone. In Claretts younger days, he grew up watching his brothers and friends living the hustler lifestyle. Even one of his teachers that are supposed to guide kids in the right direction in life, taught Clarett how to make and sell drugs. While he was playing at Ohio State is when his party lifestyle really started to form. His Youngstown crew would come down then they would go to the club after every game and drink all night. Also, when Clarett moved to LA Hai influenced the party life there for him. Sometimes influences can be negative or positive but unfortunately the majority of them were negative.
Lastly, the biggest takeaway I had from the zoom call was mentality. During the zoom call Clarett stated that mentality was one of the main themes in his book. Early on Clarett’s mentality is that he’s living a “gangsters” lifestyle but when he goes to prison he becomes a man. Clarett writes, “ I wanted to orient myself so all my thoughts were aligned with a purpose—getting clean, going straight, becoming a partner to Ashley and father to Jayden. (Clarett 216). Reading this quote just tells you how dedicated Clarett really is about changing his life. Clarett stayed strong with his mentality throughout prison, and now he influences many of young athletes around the country.
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| This is Clarett speaking to fellow students. |
Your first two takeaways are good because they are not something that are out right said in the book and are something that would had to be thought about to get.
ReplyDeleteI also thought one of the biggest takeaways was mentality from the zoom. It felt very emphasized by Clarett.
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