American Dream, Example of Success

Michael Oher with the Tuohy family, who adopted him at the age of 18


 I chose to use Michael Oher as my example of the American Dream and a success story from it. Micheal Oher was born in Memphis, Tennessee, to a crack addicted mother and had 11 brothers and sisters. His father was frequently in prison. As a result, he didn't receive a lot of attention as a child and didnt have a lot of discipline. He had to repeat both the first and second grades. He also attended 11 different schools in his first 9 years of school.
 At age 7, he was placed in foster care and bounced around several homes and experienced homelessness. His biological was murdered in prison. 

 He played Basketball and Football while in High School. He ends up at Briarcrest Christian School. After the 2003 football season at Briarcreast, he was named the Division II (2A) Lineman of the Year and First team Tennessee All-State.

In 2004, Leigh Anne and Sean Tuohy, a couple with a daughter and son attending Briarcrest, allowed Oher to live with them and eventually adopted him. The family began tending to his needs after becoming familiar with his difficult childhood. They also hired a tutor for him, who worked with him for 20 hours per week.

 They helped get his GPA up to an acceptable level, providing him with a place to live and sleep, in a stable environment for the first time in his life. While he insists he knew football before he was adopted living with the Tuohy's allowed him to focus on it more. 
 He went to Ole Miss College (Mississippi), which he didnt expect to happen, previously being homeless and was the 23rd pick in the 2009 NFL draft, selected by the Baltimore Ravens. 
 He has had a film made about his early life and childhood, leading up to the point he enters college. However, he was entirely happy about his on-screen representation. He insists that he is more open and talkative and more fun-loving. To set the record straight, he wrote an autobiography, called 'I beat the odds, from Homelessness to the Blind Side and Beyond'. 

His is a story that links to the American Dream because he came from such a rough childhood. He was homeless and had no biological father and an absent mother, moving from foster home to foster home, before being adopted by the Tuohy's. Through hard work and guidance, and a degree of luck, he has became a Super Bowl champion and NFL player, currently for the Tennessee Titans.