Assignment #15 - Multiple Intelligence

“You want to know what made me this way?” The old man was speaking to an adolescent of no more than 16 years of age. He was his probation officer. The boy rolled his eyes but the man continued anyway. “It was exactly what made you the way you are now. It was myself. I am this way because I chose to be this way. Let your troubles bring you down and they will. But let them build you up and they will too.” It was almost as if the old man could see his words float right above the boys head. “Here’s what I want you to do. Every time you feel burdened I want you to pick a rock that you think is about the size of your burden. Put that rock in your backpack and take it with you everywhere. At the end of the week, come back to me.”  The adolescent had no choice but to do as he was instructed. The first day he went home, his mom was drunk and cursed at him and beat him until he finally made his way out the door. He saw a rock nearly the size of his fist. The boy picked it up and took it home to place in his backpack. On the second day, a proud jock tripped him on the way to class. At lunch he found a rather small rock and added it to his collection. This continued for the rest of the week. The weight caused him to become angry and consequently he got in more trouble with teachers and parents. By Friday the boys backpack was so heavy he could hardly lift it. Not only that, he now had two referrals and was nearing suspension. In addition, he had to leave home early just to make it to class on time because the rocks weighed him down. On Sunday he returned to his probation officer. The old man lifted the boys back and said, “What did you learn?” The boy looked dumbfounded and replied, “Rocks slow you down.” There was not even a slight pause. “Exactly!” The old man seemed over excited and the boy did not understand. Knowing the boy did not comprehend, the man proceeded, “Tell me something you are good at.” This time there was a long pause before either of them spoke. “Uh basketball I guess but I don’t play much.” The boy was unsure as to where the mans questions were leading. “Now for the following week”, the probation officer began, “Every time you feel burdened you will go outside and shoot some hoops. You will not return home until you feel you have made an exceptional amount of baskets.” The boy thought that this task couldn’t get an easier. He was pleased to have a reason to shoot hoops without his parents beckoning him back home. That night he shot 5 successful hoops after realizing his grade point average had plummeted. The next day his parents engaged in another fight to which the blame was placed on him. He shot about 25 hoops, 20 of which were successful. Around mid-week the boy realized the more anger he had, the more hoops he shot. He also apprehended that when he took his anger out with a basketball, he did not get in as much trouble. When he returned to his probation officer he told him what he had come to understand. The old man replied, “Now tell me why I had you carry rocks the first week but this week I had you play basketball.” The boy pondered this for a moment. “The first week I resembled myself and the rocks were burden of negative energy.” The boy stopped to observe his P.O as he was unsure if this answer was correct. The man motioned him to continue. “The rocks slowed me down and made me angry like my burden had. During the second week I took something that I was good at and used it as positive energy. The basketball was my burden but it was also my gift.”