Fast and Furious for Justice

            Is there a time where something happens to your family and you want to serve justice to the person that hurt the person in your family? In “Fast & Furious”, Letty, a main character, is killed by a Mexican drug lord by the name of Braga. Letty was dating Dom Torretto and was part of Dom’s family. Dom sets out from the beginning of the movie to seek and catch the person that has killed Letty. But Dom can’t do it alone. He has Brian O’Connor, a FBI detective and also part of his family, help catch Braga. They go out to seek justice for Letty’s death.

            In the beginning of the movie, Brian and Dom go audition for a job so they can get in with Braga, but him not knowing they are trying to catch him and bring him in. In the audition, Dom beats out Brian to get into the job with Braga leaving Brian out. But Brian has a way in. The one man that was already in with Braga is fake busted by Brain that way Brian is in with Braga. When Brian and Dom go to a place they meet up with a man by the name of Campos. He is what they believe the first hand man of Braga. He tells Dom and Brain to be ready at call to go on a drug job. This puts Brain and Dom that much closer to getting the justice they want.

            When Dom and Brian go on the job run, Dom is almost killed by Fenix, a high up man in Braga’s people. Luckily Dom blows up his car through his car lighter and nos. Brian and Dom get away with money and drugs that belong to Braga. Later on they call Campos and tell him and Braga meet up to exchange money for them meeting Braga face to face. At the meeting, they meet Braga but find out it’s not the real Braga but an imposter. The real Braga is actually Campos. He gets away with Fenix but luckily Brian and Dom know where to find through Gisele, a women that worked for Braga. They meet up with her just outside the border of Mexico and she tells them where to find Braga. This puts them even closer to catching Braga.

            Brian and Dom go to the church where Braga is and find him. They go into the church and capture Braga. Brian get him in his car and they take off for the US Border. As they get away they think they have Braga caught and are getting away. When this is happening Fenix is right on his tail. They go through all these secret mountain passage ways and are finally caught by Fenix as they go flipping out of the mountain. When this happens Fenix gets Braga out of Brian’s car. As he does this Brain get out of his car and Fenix begins to beat Brian up and just when he is about to shot Brian, Dom comes hauling out of the mountain and runs down Fenix with his car, killing Fenix. They have caught Braga and have got justice for themselves. They are happy to catch him.

            Even though Braga killed Letty and Brian and Dom would have loved to kill Braga, they just couldn’t. They still got justice though for catching Braga and putting him in jail. This is the best thing they could have done because it wouldn’t have been good to kill Braga. Putting him in jail was good enough and settled them for the justice they deserved. Catching Braga was just the justice that the whole family needed to move on, even though they were still hurt.

Forgiving my Coach

            Have you ever had a moment when a coach has frustrated you beyond belief? Had that feeling where you wanted to just not be around your coach because of what he has done to you. Had that coach realize he was wrong for doing something to you and then he realizes he was wrong and had to forgive him? Well last fall, this happened to me at my old school of Urbana University.

            Last fall I sat in my dorm room waiting to go to golf practice. I was having a good golf season and had a somewhat good relationship with my coach. It was time to go to practice and so I went. It became just one of those days where I just wasn’t striking the ball the best and many thoughts about my swing were running through my head. My coach was there and saw my struggles but deep down he knew I was one of his best bets to compete at our conference tourney. I hadn’t been chosen to compete yet because of my struggles and he said he’d let us know who was playing.

            Later that night as I was sitting in the gym watching a girls’ basketball game when I got the text from coach. I was shocked at what I saw. He had left me out of the 5 man rotation to go play at the conference tournament. I couldn’t believe it. I was so mad for the time being and many weeks following. The team went on and played in the conference tournament finishing 8^th out of 10 teams. Coach was upset with the team and I knew he had made a mistake but didn’t know if he knew. But if he admitted to his mistake, there might have been a way for me to forgive him.

            I had been playing so consistent all year and he had left me out. I was laying around one day when coach called me and told me to meet him at his office. So I went to his office to what I prepared to be me forgiving my coach. When I walked in, my coach immediately admitted to his mistake and asked me to forgive him. I have to be honest and say a part of me wanted to say screw off and walk out but the better side of me came out and I did forgive him. It may have not been the thing I wanted to do, but for respect it’s what I did. Just to keep the relationship good between us.

            The act of forgiving my coach was the best thing for me to do not only for myself but for him. I could have easily told him off but I was the better man and did forgive. I forgave for the benefit of myself so I wouldn’t be so mad at him. I also did it so I could still keep respect for him. Although I don’t play for him, I still have the upmost respect for him and always will because I forgave him for an honest mistake. Forgiveness is powerful and the key.

Forgiveness for Myself

            Have you ever experienced a time in which you felt so down on yourself and didn’t know what to do? You were upset with your performance in something and got so down on yourself you felt depressed? That is the time in which you have to get forgiveness in yourself and just move on. I experienced that my senior year of high school after my District Golf Tournament. I needed to find within myself, the realm of forgiveness.

            It was a cool autumn morning in the fall of 2012 and I was at my District Golf Tournament for my high school, which was Eaton High School. It was my senior year, my last hurrah to do something great for myself and for my school. The high expectation of me doing so well was definitely in the back of my mind. The whole time leading up to the tournament, I had those thoughts in the back in my head, which is what in the end haunted.

            My first tee shot went well, but after that, everything went downhill really fast. I bogeyed my first hole, triple bogeyed the second hole and then double bogeyed the next. I went 6 over in my first 4 holes. It’s what ultimately killed me the rest of the day. I ended my front nine shooting a 42, 6 over par. The back nine I shot a 40, 4 over par. I shot an 82, 10 over. I missed the State golf tournament by 5 shots. So I looked back at those first 4 holes and got really upset knowing that is what ultimately killed me. Only missing by 5 haunted me.

            For a few weeks I sat around, feeling what I suppose was depression. I didn’t have the motivation to do anything. The 5 shots kept haunting me. I knew I could have made it but I didn’t. I kept telling myself I wasn’t good enough. It just kept eating at me and eating at me. Literally killing my mental physic. After what seemed to be forever, but was only 3 weeks, I came to a realization, I needed to forgive myself for not making it. Being depressed wasn’t going to fix anything.

            When I came to the realization that I needed to forgive myself, I also got the call from a college to play golf. That college being Defiance College. That also really helped me turn my depression around and gave me the extra boost to forgive myself. Getting that call from Defiance College really helped say to me that I actually really was good enough. That’s when I knew my forgiveness in myself had been reached.

            When I forgave myself, it was a huge relief. Being able to forgive yourself when something doesn’t happen that you expected is a main thing to do. You have to forgive to forget because there is nothing you can do to go back and fox what happened. That is what I realized in myself. I forgave myself to forget what happened to me. Look at me now, I’m a college golfer living the dream. What more could I ask for?

Shooter: Doing it for Justice

            In the movie Shooter, justice is the main theme that goes on in the movie. In the movie Shooter, a Marine sniper by the name of Bob Lee Swagger is out in the middle of a foreign land where is not supposed to be. While he is out in this land with his partner and buddy Donnie Fenn, they are ambushed by a group of radicals from the land. While getting ambushed, the American military base leaves them to get out on their own. While this happens, Swagger and Donny are attacked by a helicopter. It passes over once shooting at them but not hitting them. The helicopters next pass it shoots and kills Donnie. Swagger, really upset and worried for his own life, gets his barret 50 caliber sniper and starts shooting. He hits the helicopter and then the screen goes black. It then takes you a few years later to his home in Montana.

            While Swagger is at his home in Montana, a former military man by the name of Colonel Johnson wants to use Swagger as a set up for the government killing the president. With the help of Senator Meachum, Colonel Johnson’s friend, they go to Montana to get Swagger. When they get there, Colonel Johnson tells Swagger they need his help to plan a presidential assassination, so that way they know how to stop it. They offer this job to Swagger in the hope that he will take it. They want him to travel to Philadelphia, Washington D.C., and Baltimore to see which city is the prime for an assassination. Swagger identifies that Philadelphia is the prime city and that’s where it’s going to happen. They want Swagger there with them on the day so they know exactly when it will happen. In all reality, they are setting Swagger up.

            While they are in Baltimore, the Ethiopian archbishop is speaking before the president. When the president arrives, a shot is fired killing the Ethiopian archbishop instead. At the same time, a fake cop shoots Swagger twice in the shoulder and leg but falls out a window and get away. After coming out that window and coming out the building he feel in, he meets FBI agent Nick Memphis who he disarms and steal his car. By getting away he drives the stolen car into the Delaware River. After getting away from the FBI he finds refuge in Sarah Fenns house, Donnie’s widowed wife. She then saves Swaggers life by removing the bullets and fixing his bullet wounds. As this happens, Memphis is kidnapped by rouge agents. Swagger saves Memphis by coming in and killing all the agents. Memphis and Swagger will now work together.

            After that happens they go to Lynchburg, Virginia where the real assassin is staying. When Swagger goes in to find out all the info about how he was setup, the man tells him about how the killing of Donnie was part of a massacre that Colonel Johnson and Senator Meachum were a part of. The man then kills himself after this confession. On his way out Swagger kills 24 men, along with the help of Memphis. While this happened Colonel Johnson had Sarah kidnapped and abused sexually. The cat and mouse game continues till Swagger and Memphis agree to meet Colonel Johnson and Senator Meachum in the mountains. They exchange evidence then Swagger, Sarah and Memphis are surrounded by the FBI.

            Next you see Swagger in prison clothes surrounded by the FBI director and Colonel Johnson in closed meeting in Washington D.C. Swagger then clears his name by loading his gun and firing- nothing come out. He then tells the FBI director that he changes his pins in his gun that the guns can’t shoot. That proves that he didn’t kill the Ethiopian archbishop. Swagger is let go and so is Colonel Johnson after being proved guilty of the mass Eritrean massacre. Swagger is let go free of charge. We later see Colonel Johnson and Senator Meachum in the Senators log cabin with their colleagues. Swagger evades by first killing Colonel Johnson by shooting up through the floor. Swagger then breaks in killing the rest including Senator Meachum. When he leaves he breaks a gas line which blows up the house as Swagger walks away. Swagger is last seen getting into the car with Sarah and driving away. Swagger killed the men and blew up the house for justice he deserved after being setup.

            Justice is a big part of this movie because Swagger killed the men he setup for the justice of himself. When Swagger kills the men in the movie, it may seem as cruel and not right, but in reality, it should be recognized as justice for himself. He also did it for justice in his dog that he had. His dog was killed and he killed the men in justice for his dog. If Swagger would not have went to kill those men, then the thought of Colonel Johnson “winning” would have haunted Swagger for forever, so he couldn’t let that happen. Justice can be a very powerful tool for a person getting the results they want and getting the right outcome in life.

Safe Haven: Asking for Forgiveness

            In the movie Safe Haven, forgiveness is a big part of the theme that goes on in the movie. In the movie Safe Haven, a girl by the name Erin Tierney is involved in a skirmish with her current husband at the time, Kevin Tierney, who happens to be a cop. After the skirmish with her current husband she decides to run away from him and all her problems. When Erin does this she gets to a small town called Southport, South Carolina. When she gets there, she misses the bus as it leaves, but seems to do so on purpose. She has found the place to stay so she can be safe.

            The next day Erin goes to find a job, only telling the workers at her new job that her name is Katie. Once she is established in her new job she meets a guy named Alex. Alex is a single father, whose wife passed away from cancer. Alex is ready to move on and start anew.  Erin/Katie is attracted to the man, as he is to her, but they don’t tell each other that. As time goes on they start to grow on each other and Alex finds any way possible to be with Erin/Katie. As all this is going on, Erin/Katie’s husband is trying to find any way possible to find her and get her back.

            As time has went on, Alex and Erin/Katie have shared many moments with each other and start to fall in love. As they are falling in love and everything is seeming to go as planned, Erin/Katie’s husband has sent out a fake wanted poster for her saying she has committed a murder. No one at first notices that she is the person on the wanted picture. One day when Alex is at the police station, he glances over to the bulletin board to see Erin/Katie’s face on the wanted poster. He is absolutely heartbroken because she has lied to him about everything.

            When Erin/Katie is closing for work Alex shows up with the poster questioning her true identity and if everything she has said is true. He gets mad at her and tells her to leave. Saying he never wants to see her again. Erin/Katie is heartbroken because she really love Alex. As she is packing up, prepared to leave, Alex begins to realize that he has made a huge mistake and must go to find Erin/Katie. She is getting ready to get on a ferry when Alex finds her and stops her from leaving. Alex is forgiving himself for yelling at her because he is in love with her. He even tells her, “Katie I’m sorry. I didn’t mean what I said. I can promise you that you will be safe here with me and nothing will hurt you. This is the safest place on earth for you and I will let nothing happen to you.” They leave the ferry and go to his house. In the end, Erin/Katie’s crazy husband tries to come back and get her. He tries to kill her but she ultimately kills him by shooting him. So she stays in Southport with Alex and they stay in love.

            Forgiveness was used in this movie when Alex tells Erin/Katie to leave but then realizes he made a mistake. He must try to get forgiveness from her so that he can get her to stay with him so they are both happy. When Alex tells Erin/Katie he is sorry she says it is okay and that she is just scared of what will happen to her. She forgives him because she has fallen in love with him so it is easy for her to do. So Alex asking for forgiveness was the main point of this story because if he wouldn’t have done so, then Erin/Katie could have left and then Alex would have regretted it for life. He would have held that against him and it would have been hard for him to move on and start anew. Forgiveness is very powerful, and this movie shows it in a very understanding way.