Essay Sample on Homeless to Harvard: The Inspiring True Story of Elizabeth Murray

Introduction

Homeless to Harvard is a non-fiction American TV movie that is written by Ronni Kern and directed by Peter Levin. The film is based on a true story of Elizabeth Murray, a girl who has undergone challenging situations in life but later overcomes all her adversities. The beginning of the film relates to the problematic childhood life that Elizabeth faces, such as neglect by her parents, drug addiction, poverty, and lack of food. Although she is an intelligent girl, she shows little interest in education as she does not attend classes. Besides her mother being a drug addict, she has also contracted HIV because she engages in prostitution to acquire money to buy drugs. However, on realizing Elizabeth's mother's problematic behaviors, her family takes her and Elizabeth's sister to live with their grandfather. Elizabeth decides to stay with her father, who is careless and does not support Elizabeth through her education. In grandpa's, her mother had become alcoholic and her health condition is deteriorating day-by-day. Elizabeth takes care of her mother and goes back to school, where she becomes friends with Chris (Meland 2013). Later she gets into trouble with her grandfather and decides to run away from home. She leaves to leave in the streets with her friend, where they live in an environment full of crime, deprivation, and leisure. However, after a life of hardship and struggle with education, Elizabeth gets back to school and continues with education. Later she applies for a scholarship from the New York Times, and she is supported to study in Harvard University. The film is a masterpiece that is emotional and full of motivation to its audience. It can be better explained in simple words "from nothing to something" type of film. The paper shall critically analyze the film, arguing that although it is difficult to overcome various hardships, with determination and self-recognition, everybody can achieve their goals.

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Most people should consider watching movies like Homeless to Harvard instead of watching entertainment movies to get a taste of reality. If more true stories of struggle and bravery were told to the audiences, most people would gain hope in life and develop a positive attitude towards life events (Lawrence, 64). Presumably, most youths would realize the hidden potential within them after watching movies that narrate stories that motivate them, which would discourage them from wasting their lives. In that way, maybe there would be more people like Murray. The movie is very passionate that it engages the audience emotionally. The movie gives one a real-life experience, which individuals can put their faith on. In a story that is narrated in such a way, where Murray believes in herself when there is nothing to believe in shows individuals that they can overcome every hardship and make the best out of it. Although a few people are born resilient, Murray is one of them. Her parents are cocaine addicts who spent most of their money to feed their behaviors. Liz explains that as a result, she and her sister were neglected and they lacked food and warm clothes, and at the age of 15, she was in the streets, homeless, poor, and hungry. In school, Liz was an introvert, always hungry, mocked, and rarely attended classes although she attained good grades. Her mother died of AIDS and her father lived in the streets. However, Murray made a promise to herself that she would be different after the death of her mother. She did not want to end up like her mother and she decided that the best way to avoid that fate was going back to school. The journey to her realization is geared by her choices and events that motivated her to turn her life around.

Sometimes, circumstances might change individual's mentality, which might lead to changes of behaviors that may contribute to a change of conducts leading to success or failure (Lawrence 97). After Murray's mother is diagnosed with HIV/AIDS, Murray is faced by a choice of living with her father in the assisted living home. However, she drops of school and runs away after spending few months in dreadful shelter homes. She was sleeping in the subways station benches. She shoplifted to get food, books, or even begged on the streets while she was homeless. Her mother's funeral had no priest and the body was placed in a wooden box and buried with mud by a crane (Meland, 2013). The movie uses tone and cinematography skills to appeal to the emotions of the audience and enhance the reality of the movie. For instance, the part of the movie where Murray lies on the wooden coffin crying is heart-wrenching and triggers emotions among the audience. She faces the reality after her mother's death when she realizes that her mother was never coming back. She gets to a public school and completes her high school curricula in two years, instead of four years. However, her trip to Harvard is a wake-up call as she decides to give education a shot after gaining admission there. She washes dishes to pay her way, and there are notes stuck on walls that reminds her that she should work extra hard. She does her homework on subway trains but still manages to graduate with the highest scores, which shows the attainments she achieves through the power of her spirit. The spirit was instilled in her after her mother's death and her father's diagnosis with AIDS, which made her give life a chance. Due to her honesty and willpower, she wins a prestigious scholarship from The New York Times worth of $12,000 per year, which takes her to Harvard (Meland 2013). This indicates that her determination to achieve her goals lands her in Harvard, where she achieves her dreams.

The story is told through the eyes of Liz, and her role is played by Thora Birch. The movie is a blockbuster that should be watched all over the universe to motivate people who might be facing the same challenges as Murray. Thora Birch, who is mostly known for her Oscar winning film, American Beauty, plays every bit and part in the 91 minutes of the Homeless to Harvard movie, bringing the life of Murray on screen to encourage and motivate young adults that despite of any challenges they face, determination and working towards individual's goals does never disappoint. Liz's story shows that "no man is limited." Although only a few people who start off in a situation like Liz's end up with a good life, one should utilize their abilities to ensure that their life is better. However, most people have been influenced by their parent's behaviors, ending up living with the same situation. Since few people are born resilient, I believe that one should not wait until they are in a dreadful situation to start focusing on their dreams. This is because human are created with different abilities, and one should recognize theirs and utilize it.

Comparing Homeless to Harvard with a film like David Makes Man, where the starring character, David, undergoes almost a similar situation only that he is not homeless, one realizes that everyone is responsible for making their life what they like. One can make a sad story have an exciting ending, or make a sad story end more terribly than it started. For instance, in David Makes Man, David pushes hard through his admission to Harvard. Which at the end of the movie, one notices that he is one step closer to the admission (Oprah Winfrey Network, ep 9). He also engages in drug dealing, experiences the death of his best friend and mentor, and his single mother is fired. Although David is not fully focused throughout his studies, he makes the best out of the opportunity he has, suggesting that he will get a better life in future just like Liz. Although David's mother is still alive and they are not homeless, his condition is also related to Murray's as they both focus on success, making a choice, and working towards their goal. Therefore, as Murray does, David overcomes his struggles and he is on the journey to success.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the film Homeless to Harvard is motivational and inspiring as it insists on remaining focused on dreams and working towards achieving them. Liz Murray confirms that individuals can overcome their challenges by making the right choices in life. She changes from a homeless girl to a successful lady studying her dream profession in one of the best rated Universities in the world. She becomes homeless at the age of 15, her mother dies of AIDS, and her father is diagnosed with HIV. Although she is a bright girl, she does not get the chance to be always in school due to hunger, lack of clothing to protect her from cold, and she gets ridiculed in school since she is dirty and smelly, which makes her an introvert. From the comparison of the film David Makes Man, a story of a teenager who also undergoes similar struggles to get higher education, one realizes that struggles can shape a person. However, one should not rely on the belief that they must face struggles to make life-changing decisions. Instead, I believe that if everyone realized the importance of the opportunities they have, and use them to build a firm foundation in their lives like Murray does, the world can be a better place as the number of outrageous behaviors such as drug and substance abuse can be low. Consequently, one should not wait for a dreadful moment to realize their potential since some may not be able to rise above their challenges. The film inspires its audience by showing that although it might be demanding to overcome various hardships, with determination and self-recognition, individuals can achieve their goals after making positive decisions in their lives.

Work Cited

Lawrence, Franca. Overcoming Life's Challenges. Lulu.com, 2017, 130. Print.

Meland, Keshav. "Homeless to Harvard." Youtube Video. December 26, 2013. Accessed from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ksEjJyNiG8 (Accessed on December 11, 2019)

Oprah Winfrey Network. "David Makes Man." Youtube Video. October 3, 2019. Accessed from https://youtu.be/j4rwJ8Ci6qo (Accessed on December 26, 2019)