Plan B
By Michael Griffin
• I woke up suddenly from the sounds of smashing bottles and
loud laughter. When my vision became clearer I saw the gang in
clear view, drinking liquor at my bar. I quickly ran and picked up
my rifle. In my loudest voice, I yelled out, “get out of my bar or I
will shoot”. They quickly scrambled away. Right when the gang
left, I realized that this mess would take a lot of time, effort and
money to clean up. The next day I closed down my bar for the
rest of the week, to get things sorted out. I went to Home Depot
to pick up a few supplies to clean up the bar. I picked up the
supplies and returned to my car where I had a smoke and then
drove back home to my small apartment above the bar. If only I
could turn back time and make the right decisions.
• A man from across the street started to yell at my window. At
first I just ignored him but as he started to come closer I could
clearly hear my name. “Matt, Matt”, he was yelling. He quickly
ran across the street but I still didn’t know who it was until I
clearly saw the mans face. It was my dad, the same man that
abandoned me when I was fifteen years old. I looked at him and
felt angry and hurt. These emotions surprised me so I just
turned around and walked away from my window. I wanted to
show my dad how I felt when he walked out the door on me so
many years ago. I was still so confused and angry about why
he never told me why he left. I needed to get out and go for a
walk. I passed through the park and sat down on a bench to
think. In front of me, I saw a stray dog drinking from a fountain.
When the dog was done drinking it suddenly turned into a puppy
right before my eyes. I thought to myself that if this dog could
become younger by just drinking the water then I could. Would it
be possible for me to turn back the hands of time and relive my
• With the water in my sight I
quickly filled up my water
bottle because I wanted to
turn back time and make
some good choices. I walked
back home. When I got
home I started to have
second thoughts about
drinking the water but I
quickly cleared those
thoughts out of my head and
drank it. Right at that
moment I traveled through
time, to when I was a
teenager.
•
Throughout my second high
school life I just said, “No!” to
drinking or smoking. Sure I got
called some bad names and got
pushed around but I was in it for
the long run and if I kept saying
“No” then things would start to
go my way. All throughout high
school I got straight B’s with a
couple A’s in P.E. My big
accomplishment in high school
for me was that I didn’t drink or
smoke and I knew that was a
big step towards the right side
of life.
• Now it was time for College
(University of Oregon). The
day I got there I quickly threw
all my personal items in my
room because I needed to
quickly get my books so I
could start studying. I knew
that I had to get on it quick in
case I didn’t get into the NFL.
So I started on my plan B. It
was simple, study hard, work
hard and get good grades so
I could become a successful
business man. That’s only if I
couldn’t get into the NFL. I
was working my butt off so I
didn’t need any type of plan
B.
•
QuickTime™ and a
decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
Luckily for me was New York
Jets, Tennessee Titans and the
Miami Dolphins had all been
scouting me throughout my
college career because I was
the top ranked college free
safety. I was drafted in the first
round of the 2011 NFL draft by
the New York Jets. I knew that I
still had a lot of work ahead of
me, so every day from the day I
got drafted I practiced and
practiced and practiced
because I knew if I wanted to be
the best I would also have to
beet the best.
•
For my first year in the NFL I didn’t play a lot because my coach, Rex
Ryan, knew that their current free safety, Brodney Pool , was mare
experienced than me and he was more comfortable in pressure
situations. In my second season in the NFL, I was the starting free
safety for the New York Jets. This year, we were favored to win the
most treasured prized in the NFL which is called the Super Bowl. We
zipped through the regular season with a 14-2 record and we quickly
tore down through the playoffs and before we knew it we were going to
the Super Bowl. On the day of the Super Bowl nobody could find me.
•
find me. My dad had phoned me to get together, he started to talk
about when he got seriously hurt when he was 14 and he could never
play football again. He was bitter about me going against his wishes
and playing football in the first place. Now back to the story. They
looked everywhere around Shae stadium for me but still no one could
find me. What they didn’t know was that I drank water that made me go
back in time. What no one knew was that the water I drank ran out on
Super Bowl morning and so I got sent all the way back to Green Bay,
Wisconsin. In this journey I learned that there isn’t always going to be
second chances, but when there is you have to grasp on to that
opportunity and take it.
• Brodney Pool played for me
on the day of the Super Bowl
and the New York Jets beat
the Tennessee Titans with
the final score being 32- 24.I
am now going to college at
the age of 34 and I’m taking
college courses in business
so that I can become a
successful businessman,
just like I set for my plan B.
Thank You For
Watching/Listening