Rudy: The Road to Perseverance
By: Nicole Hemmerlein
RUDY'S FAMILY NEVER BELIEVED THAT HE WOULD GO TO NOTRE DAME, UNTIL THE DAY HE ACTUALLY DID.
Rudy was an ordinary kid with a big dream to play football for Notre Dame. Unfortunately, Rudy's family never believed he could play football at Notre Dame because they didn't think he was good enough or would be accepted for academics. Rudy had been playing football on the high school football team for 4 years and really tried hard. A horrible tragedy occurred when Rudy's best friend Pete died in a factory accident. They were planning on going to Notre Dame together after they graduated. Rudy was then alone and had no idea how he was going to go to Notre dame without his best friend. One day, Rudy had the courage to go to the University of Notre Dame to talk to the coach about enrolling him next season. His dream was to run onto the field and prove everyone who thought he couldn't get into Notre Dame wrong.
Rudy Lifted by His Teammates After a Big Win
The Little Guy With a Big Heart
Rudy Dreamt of Playing for Notre Dame
LOSING A BEST FRIEND MAKES YOU WANT TO TRY HARDER.
There was a moment in Rudy's life where everything stopped and then strangely, made everything work out in the end. That tragic moment that effected Rudy was when his best friend Pete died in a factory incident. That was the time in his life where he thought he had no one left in his life that truly understood him. Pete has been in Rudy's life since high school, maybe even before that. With Pete gone, it brought down Rudy's self esteem because he thought he couldn't achieve anything without him. When Rudy goes to Pete's funeral, he remembered about Pete's dream, to go to Notre Dame together. The moment after the funeral is over, Rudy stopped everything he was doing and drove straight to South Bend to go to the University to talk to the coach about his and Pete's dream.
Where it all began.
In the beginning of Rudy's life, not everything was perfect. He would get teased by his siblings and friends because he wasn't as tall as the other kids. Even though he played football with his brothers, he would never play quarterback because of his height. Playing football as a young kid taught Rudy perseverance and the desire to achieve your dreams. When Rudy graduated from high school, the first thing he did was to go to the University of Notre Dame to talk to the coach about letting him enroll. Finally, after weeks of trying to persuade the coach and improving his grades, he received the letter from the University saying that he was accepted after all. Even today, the movie "Rudy" inspires people who thought their dreams would not come true to keep trying and never give up. Rudy teaches us that anything is possible.
DESCRIPTIVE PIECE
In the movie, Rudy gives 100% effort and participates in the practices with so much energy that his fellow teammates would get angry with him and get into fights with him about it. Rudy knew that when you are an athlete, you have to try as hard as you can or you won't get any better. He believed that If you don't have things that you need to improve on or that are very easy for you, then you are not learning. Also, I think Rudy inspired people when he didn't take no for an answer when he asked the coach if he could enroll at Notre Dame the next semester. He kept working and kept trying to prove to the coach that he could do it and that he would give it all he's got. Rudy's "road to perseverance" is his desire to prove to his family that he would be accepted into Notre Dame and play football.He also wanted to meet that goal for his friend. Rudy's qualities of being hard working, never giving up, and caring about his friend, all show that anyone can achieve their goals and dreams.