This post is especially cool to me. Earlier this week, Matt Marino, a friend of nearly seven years, reached out to me asking me why I started this. He asked me what my purposes and intents are, and as I explained to him, he really appreciated my goals, and felt compelled enough to share a story within the week.
I have a special respect for Matt and I’ve always been aware of and admiring of his dedication and appreciation for his mother. We were slated to play high school baseball together until he decided to support himself before college and get a full time job. Matt currently attends the University of South Carolina and is in the process of applying to take his talents to law school.
“One of the most important lessons my mother taught me was to take every experience in life—whether positive or negative—and find a way to learn from it. Seeing how dedicated my mother was to me, it became clear she was a human analogue of maternal love and a prime example of strong love.
Her extraordinary behavior prompted me to always strive to be reciprocally extraordinary. As a result, I developed a mindset focused around bettering myself every day in the hope of eventually giving my mother all that she deserves. Growing up without a father figure in life was not easy, and it made money extremely tight. However, rather than dwelling on my misfortunes, I used them as motivation for success.
I was, and still am, dedicated to becoming the man my father failed to be, dedicated to excelling in school, and dedicated to supporting not only my future family but also my mother. This work ethic propelled me to overcome the first significant barrier after high school, becoming a first-generation college student.
As you can tell, my mother is an awesome and powerful woman, serving as a role model to many people including myself. She pushed me to my limits growing up and looking back at it, I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. As a result of her presence in my life, I understood very early on how important values were, very similar to the eight core values in Super 8. Although I am not super religious, I really stand by the importance of family, education, sacrifice, character, and discipline. My mother radiates these core values and expects me to reciprocate them through my everyday life. I hope to continue to make her proud and finally give her what she deserves down the line.
Thank you, Bryce, for allowing me to feature on this blog. I think you are making awesome steps towards a better future for not only yourself, but also in motivating those most important around you. Proud of you and keep up the good work.
Matt”
Thank you, Matt.
The final story of the series comes tomorrow.
-B.F.
Super 8 