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October Sky- Overcoming Obstacles

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October Sky- Overcoming Obstacles
October Sky

Reaching for your dreams is like looking at the Sunday newspaper comics, if you look from a far, you see the big picture, but if you look close, all you see are a bunch of dots put together. October Sky is a film based on Homer Hickam’s determination to win a national science fair. He is constantly ostracized by his community and family and does not have much money to support him either. Homer clearly doesn’t have a good chance at even getting to the science fair, let alone winning it. Many obstacles are in his way and he can’t even see his goal with all of them in the way. Somehow, he perceivers and finds a way to reach his goal. His friends did not believe in him, but later started to really believe and they all pitched in. He finally wins over everyone’s support. He and his friends make it to the science fair and win first place. On your way to reaching goals, obstacles will always be in the way. These obstacles can consist of anything such as; your community, family and economical situation. One of Homer’s main obstacles was his community who made fun of him and doubted him for a very long time. That is, until they saw Homer’s first successful rocket launch. When the boys go to school, all the other kids would constantly ostracize them because everyone knows that “the jocks are the only ones who get to go to college.” And that is because without a football scholarship “the rest of ‘em will go to work in the mines.” Homer, Quentin, Roy and O’Dell did not have a very good start with their rockets. Their first, did not take off, the second took off in the air a bit but then went straight into the mining area. With that rocket, Homer’s father told them not to shoot off any more rockets on company property. Even with Leon Bolden’s help, they did not get the right type of rocket shape, or formula to get the rockets to go straight up and fly as high as possible for as long as possible. The first time the town showed up for a rocket launch, the

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