Kimberly Nunn

English 1106

Persuasion E5

THE PURSUIT OF HAPPYNESS

     When people see a homeless person, they probably are thinking how could this person let themselves get this low?  I thought that every time I seen one around town.  Working with homeless people every day changed that.  It’s amazing to see how hard they work to achieve their goal of being somebody.  They are always striving for more every day.  They have good hearts and never give up the dream to have a good job, support their family, have a house, and make sure their kids get their education.  They usually put on a front for everyone so that they don’t see how bad they struggle to make ends meet.  The Pursuit of Happyness is about that.  It’s about the dedication of pursuing a dream, struggling as a parent and being homeless.

     The dedication of pursuing people’s dreams is very important.  I had a baby at a young age and wasn’t ready.  I put off going to college and going for my degree in Radiology.  I never gave up that dream to one have a great job and have a house of my own.  I finally got the chance to go back to school and I couldn’t be happier.  I just thought of how my life would be if I made it there and that’s what kept me going to achieve that goal.  The Pursuit of Happyness is about a father that is in sales selling scanners to pay his bills.  Anyone that has worked in sales knows that your sale is your paycheck.  When you don’t make a sale, it’s very hard to pay your bills when no money is coming in.  He lands a job as an intern for a stock company for six months without pay.  After the six months, he doesn’t know that he will even get the job, but he keeps going to work every day to try it.  He never gives up trying to land that job.  College students should watch this movie because this shows how internship works and that there is no guarantee that you will get a job in your field right away.  When students go to college, they usually get internship around the last few months of school.  Although students may have experience in that line of work from their internship, many employers look for more experience.  That is why it is hard to land a job fresh out of college. 

     When people have kids and they don’t have a very good job or no job, it makes it very hard to get on their feet.  There are a lot of low income families in the
Duluth area.  Some may be homeless.  With the amount of jobs in this city, it makes it hard for students or families to get out of the low income range.  Working with homeless families, I see so many try so hard to get where they need to be and always fall short.  The father in this movie tries so hard to get where he wants to be and something always happens and makes him fall short.  College students should watch this because it shows them what can really happen to someone in the blink of an eye.  Anyone could become homeless at anytime.  This kind of helps people see what could happen and teaches them to not take things for granted.  This movie symbolizes that no matter what happens, never give up.

     College students can relate to the guy in this film because when they start college, they don’t have much money to start with.  This is usually the time that they start to live on their own.  Some still live with their parents because they just can’t afford it.  I know that when I was fresh out of school, I was forced out of my home to live on my own.  I could not afford it but I managed it anyway.  There were a few times that I didn’t have the money to pay for rent and I was almost kicked out.  I had my son at that time so I can relate to the father in this movie.  I have seen a majority of my friends take for granted the help they have from their parents.  Some people just don’t have that, so people should be thankful for what they have.  This movie teaches people to be thankful for the things that they have and not take for granted that they have a roof over their heads and money to keep them going.

     Some critics might not agree with me that this movie is educational for college students because it is more based for adults or that it is more of “chick flick.”  In fact I would have to argue with them because it is not a “chick flick” and the fact that college students are adults.  This helps them appreciate all the things they have and shows them how easy it is to have it taken away.  This movie shows the true meaning of family and the struggles that any family can face.  Students see homelessness every day in
Duluth.  This movie helps them realize how a person could get there and that it was a lot of things that could have got them there.  This is a good movie because it shows a father’s love for his son and the will to keep going to achieve his goal of landing a good job for him.  The main point in the movie is to “Never let anyone tell you, you can’t so anything. Pursue you dream no matter what it takes.”