I watched the movie and laughed, smiling as I don’t often laugh. Tears, especially when I could relate to times of my life. I spent time thinking of the movie and what message did it convey. I read reviews by people who watched the movie.
Based on the movie, I believe he would not have realized his dream without his wife. That person, his wife, has to be there to support him and sacrifice with him.
I have met people like him, but their life stories are not what would sell a movie. I went to law school with a man who had always wanted to be a lawyer. He gave up a very high-paying career to try to reach his dream. He barely got accepted into law school; it was a night program for want-to-be lawyers. He finished but failed to pass the bar exam. I kept in touch with him while he was here in Houston. I lost touch with him when he moved to San Antonio. But every time the Bar Magazine came out with newly admitted lawyers, I would look for his name. Years later, I saw his name on the list and was so happy for him.
The other person who made a difference was Ms. Young, who cared enough for him as his teacher to encourage him to dream. I often hear newcomers, first-generation Americans, how they made it here even though they were immigrants or children of recent immigrants. My experience was that the only Latino teacher in high school told us to join the army. That was in 1966-1967, the height of Vietnam. Numerous of my friends took his advice and never came back alive from Vietnam. I could easily have been one of those, but I was seventeen when I graduated, and when my friends joined, and I went with them, they turned me down.
Luck, or God, if one prefer, also comes into play. One needs that often in life.
