True Glory

Starting out as an inner city kid, is tough. You could get shot, get in to drugs, or go to prison. Many parents that live there, don’t want their children to grow up running with gangs or end up in prison because of the choices they make when they are just teenagers. For young, Drew Lawson in the book Game by: Walter Dean Myers he wants to be a “mega-baller” and make the pros. But, can he overcome some new teammates that think they are “all that” and get himself a college scholarship to achieve his lifelong goal of reaching the pros?

After the heartbreaking loss in the state tournament, Drew Lawson finally got what he wanted. After his teammates got their scholarships -- after his countless hours in the gym -- he finally got it. A scholarship to a Division 1 school. DePaul University wanted to take a chance on Drew. His basketball skills would now be up against some of the top players/teams in the country. I predict that Drew will beat his competition because of his hard work, dedication, determination, and skills. He wouldn’t back down a chance to prove he is the real deal. There are many things you need when you are playing basketball, not just skills but other things that you wouldn’t think play a role. You need confidence to beat an opponent because you need momentum to eventually beat them and you can’t do that without being confident in yourself and your teammates. You need swag to also beat an opponent, when people think of the word swag—they think of you being cocky and think you are all that. In reality, you aren’t swag comes from your heart and how good you think you can be, if you think you are the best then go out and prove it. You need to have fun in the game of basketball, if you aren’t having fun—then why play the game? Drew has all of these necessary tools and skills to achieve his lifelong goal.

Although you need skills and tools to be good at the game, you also can’t get in trouble or do anything stupid because then all of that will be gone. Just because Drew got a scholarship doesn’t mean he is off the hook yet. He could go to jail, get shot, or start robbing people like in the book Black & White by: Paul Volponi. Two young teenagers named Eddie and Marcus also known as “Black & White” earned themselves plenty Division 1 college offers but messed it all up by pulling “stickups”, they really paid the price for that. I don’t think anything like that will happen to Drew. He is a smart kid, and knows that this is his shot and will not blow it. That is what makes him different from every other kid in the hood playing ball, he actually cares. Which makes him strong and a true basketball player, like every kid should be.

Making mistakes, is part of being human. Sometimes they are minor mistakes like forgetting to let the dog outside, not doing your chores, etc. simple things like that. Sometimes they are major shooting someone, or robbing people etc. major things like that. Some kids mess up, other don’t. It is all part of life. Whether you are the best player ever, or the weakest. We all have something that makes us who we are. And we all need to live up to that potential. For good or bad, we all have something in us that keeps us living ever day of our lives.