The Super Bowl

On Sunday, like 100 million other people, I watched the Super Bowl. I am not a football fan, but I was interested in this game because it was the biggest game of the year. What I learned watching this game is that you should never count yourself out.

At the half, the Atlanta Falcons were in the lead with a score of 21-0. I was thinking, Well, this game is over. But I was very wrong. The Patriots rallied and won in overtime with a score of 34-28. The whole time I was thinking, How? This was a history making game.

Tom Brady and company were truly impressive. Even though they were behind, they remained calm and played their very own brand of football. And little by little, they chipped away at the Falcons’ lead. By the fourth quarter, when the score was 21 to 28, I, like everyone else was wondering, How did this happen?
It happened because the Patriots never gave up. They could have easily given up after the first half, but this deficit became their motivation. In the second half, we saw a completely different team walk onto the field. They rallied and won a nail-biter that turned out to be the first Super Bowl game to go into overtime.

Along with the Super Bowl game, the life of Frederick Douglass can also serve as a source of inspiration. Because it is Black History Month, Mr. Douglass’s life and achievements are being reexamined by many. Fredrick Douglass was born into slavery. He escaped and went on to become an abolitionist, suffragist, and diplomat. He was also an amazing writer and speaker. He wrote several autobiographies. They are still in print and are highly recommended reading.

If one were to have predicted Frederick Douglass’s life, the last thing that would have been foretold was that he would have ascended to the heights he did. Many people who were born into slavery died in that unforgiving situation. Those who escaped very rarely raised their economic status. Douglass, therefore, was an anomaly. He was also an inspiration. During his life, he did what few black people were able to do. He escaped slavery. He learned to read and write, and he used that knowledge to fight for the freedom and rights of others.

Life is wildly and wonderfully unpredictable. Just because things might not be going the way you wish they could be now does not mean that they cannot and will not change for the better very soon. You must keep striving. You must keep pushing forward. 

​Note: This blog appeared as an article in 2/9/17 edition of the Kinney County Post.