Yes, the movie is great, but it teaches a lot.
A little kindness goes a long way...
"Do you have anywhere to stay tonight?"
Leigh Anne was just offering a place to stay for a strange boy that she saw on the side of the road. She had no idea that the one night would turn into weeks and months. She gave Michael love, hope, warmth, food, everything he needed and never had and it turned him into the amazing man that he is today.
Expect the unexpected...
"I'd like to become a legal guardian"
Did anyone in that house think that after that one night, Michael would one day be a legal member of their family? Did they even know that he would go on to play for the Baltimore Ravens in the NFL and become one of the best players? His whole life was the unexpected and turned out wonderfully.
Protect those closest to you no matter what...
"If anyone have tried to get to me you would have stopped them, right?"
This goes without saying. Michael was ready to protect Leigh Anne right after he met her and took her to Hurt Village to get his clothes. He protected SJ in the car crash at the expense of his arm.
He protected his coach and his team makes like his own at games which made him such a valuable player and person. Michael shows that it pays to be faithful to those you care about most.
Stand up for what you believe in...
In her land of the rich and white, it was way out of the norm for Leigh Anne to have Michael enter into her home and have him stay. Obviously, her friends were not okay with that and it shows when she starts to talk back to them.
Does it really matter that he's black or from a bad neighborhood? He needed help and Leigh Anne and her family were fortunate enough to be able to provide for him, why is that something that she should be shamed for?
Say what you think...
"Hey crotch mouth! Yea, you! Zip it or I'll come up and zip it for ya!"
Would you stand on the side line and let someone bad mouth your family? No, and that is exactly what Leigh Anne shows us at the football game when an older man from the rival team starts to insult Michael from the stands. Whoops.
Family is what you make it...
"It's where my family goes to school. It's where they've always gone to school"
Family doesn't have to be blood. It can be what you make it and I think that is something that we all understand. We have all made our own families whether we know it or not; sometimes they can be better for us than our real ones.
