Have you thought that there might be too many obstacles to overcome a dream? However, when you take a step back, you realize that you can fulfill your dream if you try. During class last week, we viewed the movie October Sky. Homer Hickam, the main character in the movie, noticed that his talent was building rockets. He knew that he could do it, but he had several obstacles in his way.

        One of his obstacles was John, his very own father, who disapproved of him building his rockets. He did not believe that Homer would become anything except a coal miner. John took all the materials of one of the rocket boys’ first rockets and put them out by the street in the rain. Whenever Homer would tell his father that there would be a launch soon, he said, “I’ve got a lot of work to do Homer.” Homer overcame this by telling John that he did not care what he thought and would continue following his dream. The rocket boys won the science fair at their school and sent Homer to represent them and win at nationals at Indianapolis. His father approved of his rocket building and went to the rocket boys’ final launch. This is how he overcame the obstacle of John, his father.

        Another obstacle that the rocket boys encountered was the fire that destroyed many acres of land. They were blamed by the police for starting the fire because they could not account for all of the rockets that they had launched off. At this point, Homer and his friends thought they would never be able to work with rockets anymore. The launch pad shelter was burned in a blaze of flames marking what they thought was the end. Homer was still not satisfied that one of his rockets could have started the fire. He begins browsing through a book with advanced formulas about space. One of his teachers and a huge supporter of the rocket boys, Ms. Riley, gave this to him. After completing a tough formula, he asked one of the rocket boys, Quentin, and got his approval. The two of them started on a mission by measuring from the launch pad. Only a few yards from their approximate guess of where it came down, they found it upside down in a creek. They proved to the police that they had not sparked the fire and could begin sending rockets into the sky once again. The fire was actually started by a flare that was used by a nearby airport. The fire showed to be quite a problem that Homer and his friends had to deal with.

        The final and yet another obstacle for Homer was coal mining. John was involved in an accident while working in the mine. Many coal workers would have been injured if not for John’s heroic actions. However, John had enough injuries that he would have to put work aside due to his health. Homer decides to work the mine to provide for the family. Working for his dad also let his family maintain possession of their home and not lose it to the mine. The mine forced Homer to drop out of school so that he could work instead. Ms. Riley was angry knowing that he had something going for him and she thought he was throwing it all away. Once his dad was able to return back to work, Homer continued to work the mine. It was not long after though, Homer quit and began school once again. The mine was the last major obstacle that he had to overcome to follow his dream.

        In October Sky, Homer realized that his major talent was building rockets, though he had many obstacles. One such obstacle included John, his father. He overcame this by proving to his dad at nationals that he could do something with his life. Another huge problem was the fire that was started by their launch site. Finding the rocket and demonstrating the formula was how Homer and the rocket boys proved to the police that they were not responsible for the fire. The last obstacle was working in the coal mine. He worked to support the family until John could come back to work. Homer quit and went back to finish his school year. In conclusion, Homer had several obstacles to get to his dream of building rockets and going into space, but he knew that he could accomplish his dream.