Journal Six - Aubrey

 Aubrey Roahrig

English 1109, M-W at 10:30

10/21/20

Journal Six

    When we first started reading One and Done and The House on Mango Street, One and Done was my favorite. And still, after reading both books entirely Maurice Clarett's book is my favorite. I've never really been interested in football unless it was a high school Friday night. I understand football but it just never was my favorite. Clarett's book though gave me a whole new side to football that I've never seen. From how toxic the environment in the collegiate level can be, to race issues, and starting issues, he gave me a new perspective on football. 

    One of the biggest takeaways from Clarett's book I found was that you need to get outside of your comfort zone to better yourself. One of the biggest themes in his book I noticed was the theme of consistency. Maurice Clarett always, had football, he always had the 'thug' life, and he always had alcohol and drugs along with working out. He always stuck to these life-styles and never branched out to become a better version of himself even when he knew that the life he was living was not a good path to go down on. In prison, I think he defiantly realized and rehabilitated himself into someone he always dreamed of being, he says in the chapter Machine, "Prison is like a totally different society. I would go to sleep at 9, like clockwork. They used to call me a machine because I did the same thing everyday" (Clarett 230). It really showed me how he thrived in a consistent environment, and that setting a schedule is very beneficial to you.

    Another huge takeaway from Clarett's book is that mental health matters. Maurice Clarett stated a few times throughout the book that he was depressed but he had never gotten help because he's pushed away counselors and therapists, and instead used drugs and alcohol as his form of therapy and counseling. He stated that at one point he would've considered himself temporarily insane because of how he didn't see the wrong in killing the two people he tried robbing that wanted to go through with testifying against him. He ignored his mental health all throughout the book, and he ended up paying some sort of price for it, which really shows that taking care of yourself mentally, no matter the stigma should be one of the top five things that comes before anything else.

    A big takeaway from the zoom conference we had with Maurice Clarett is you control yourself more than you think you do. I think one of the things he was very prideful in was telling us in prison he kept to himself and did what he thought would help him be better for Jayden and Ashley. He showed that when you control yourself and discipline yourself you can accomplishment almost anything you want to. He showed an extreme importance for discipline. He disciplined himself all throughout prison and came out a rehabilitated man with a future.

    

Clarett with Ashely and Jayden