As I read through the words and memories that belong to the players of the Messina Spartans football team in the novel, Bleachers, and watch their internal struggle to forgive their Coach Rake, a man who is both hated and loved. I see in their eyes, listen in their ears and feel their stories that share the belief of how one man, Coach Rake, can affect the lives of so many people before and after him. Yet it is only when the town of Messina, when the players that were once heroes realize that their beloved, drill running coach is dying. That the players really struggle with the idea of do they truly come together and form the great team that Rake has taught them to be?
             I have come away with the feeling and thoughts of not truly being grateful for what you have, for all that is given to you, until it is gone and is only a very distant and vast memory. Rake like my parents may be sometimes demanding, determined and cruel in order to see their child or their players succeed and get where they want in life. My parents have never let me walk past an opportunity or just sit on the side line and watch while others play and make their dreams become reality. They have taught me the lesson of hard word and commitment. They have taught me to have compassion and love. And although sometimes it feels as if they are the meanest most undesirable people to be around, that all they have are harsh words of never giving up, or never losing. Those lectures and those words still ring in my ears each time I do something or say something. Like Neely exclaimed about Coach Rake, "Once you've played for Eddie Rake, you carry him with you forever. You hear his voice, you see his face, you long for his smile of approval, you remember his tongue-lashings and lectures. With each success in life, you want Rake to know about it." No matter how I may try and block them out or disregard them, I still find them as a source of inspiration...