Leigh Anne Tuohy

Leigh Anne Tuohy and her actress, Sandra Bullok. (http://michaeljeromeoher.com/leigh-anne-tuohy-sandra-bullocks-baby-is-beautiful/ ())

Kourtney Jakubowski

Thompson

H.S. English 2: Per. 5

May 15, 2012

Leigh Anne Tuohy

 It was a snowy night in the end of November and a boy named Michael Oher was wandering the streets, with nothing but a t-shirt on, desperately searching for a warm place to sleep. A woman named Leigh Anne Tuohy drove by this mysterious site, with her husband and kids. The moment she caught sight of this boy, she had a gut-feeling that she was meant to be there to help him. She was meant to turn his life around--and she did. Leigh Anne Tuohy is just a normal wealthy woman, residing her life in the heart of Memphis. She bought whatever her family needed, her kids attended private Christian school, and her life was completely set. That was until she met her future son, Michael Oher. She let him stay at their house that night, which eventually turned into weeks. After a while, he started feeling like her own son and part of the family, and the Tuohys adopted him. She turned this kid's life around, without a question. Leigh Anne Tuohy is a hero because she is humble, determined, and loving.

Leigh Anne Tuohy's humility makes her a hero. She shows her humility when Tuohy was telling her story at a seminar. She explained how she honestly didn't do that much to change Oher's life. To her, taking him into their house, letting him live with them, and eventually adopting him is not that big of a deal: "We get the credit, and that's not the truth. All we did was buy him a shirt" (Dolan). Tuohy understands the credit she has gotten for changing Oher's life, but takes it as "it was the right thing to do." She never goes around telling people how amazing she is and sharing her story on how she basically saved Michael Oher's life. She is just thankful every single day that he came into her life. Leigh Anne becomes very upset when her wealthy supposedly "best friends" question her decisions: "You have no idea what this boy has been through and if this becomes some running diatribe, I can find overpriced salad a lot closer to home" (Leigh Anne Tuohy). Tuohy is talking to her rich friends when they are out to eat and she becomes angered when they do not comprehend why she is doing what she is doing. She does not act like a stuck up rich person, she treats Michael the same no matter how much money they both have. She is taking Michael in because she loves him, but they think it is for her reputation or for charity. They never thought about someone doing something for the good of another person, not just for themselves--like Tuohy does. Tuohy is extremely humble and understanding of people from all classes.

Because Tuohy never gave up and worked hard throughout her life, it allowed her to engage in the emotional growth of Michael and not be brought down by others. While sharing her amazing story to a crowd Tuohy remarked, "We challenge you to understand that everyone has value. There is something everyone can do. What matters is that you step up and do the right thing, whether you're in ninth grade or 75 years old" (Dolan). Tuohy always speaks her mind and tries to get other people to agree with her. Always determined, that is how she is where she is today, along with her son Michael. She treats everyone equally and tries to get other people to think that way too. Waiting at the adoption center with Oher, Tuohy goes to confront the lady at the front desk: "We have been here for an hour, and all I see is people shooting the bull and drinking coffee. I want to know who runs this joint?" (Leigh Anne Tuohy). Tuohy is such a strong woman, and always determined. Leigh Anne is not afraid of anyone. She never cares about what anyone thinks and she is such a go-getter. That makes her a hero beause a lot of people strive to be like that.  When she approaches everyone with such confidence and a goal in mind, she gets what she wants. She just went up to this lady and cut everyone in line just to talk to her. Next moment, she had the adoption papers out on the table. Her fiery personality and determination causes her to not be intimated and to get what she wants.

Michael Oher hugging his mom, Leigh Anne Tuohy (http://inanutshelll.wordpress.com/2011/04/25/the-blind-side-2009/)

Although Leigh Anne seems like she has a hard exterior, she shows her motherly loving side too. When the Tuohys found Michael walking home in a t-shirt on a snowy winter night, Leigh Anne immediately stopped the car: "As a mother, all my alarms went off," she said. "Michael's needs were vast and huge" (Dolan).  Seeing Michael in such danger like she did, the first thing she thought of was "What if that was my son?" That just shows how caring she is as a person. Anyone else would have seen Michael walking in the streets and been like "Ooh, I feel bad for him," but Tuohy decided to take action right away. Her motherly instincts kicked in immediately and told her what to do. Tuohy is explaining what Michael has gone through and what he feels now, "Michael's gift is that the Good Lord gave him the ability to forget. He's mad at no one and doesn't really care what happened. His story might be sad, but he's not sad" (Lewis). Leigh Anne Tuohy knows Michael so well and tries hard to understand him. She understands that he's been through hell, but she also understands that he still tries to be happy no matter what. He is not always the easiest person to read, but she finds her ways into his heart. Oher runs away after a fight with his mom. Tuohy goes back to The Projects where he used to stay. She is so desperate that she asks the sketchiest-looking group of men if they have seen Michael anywhere. They start being rude to her and saying things about her son and she does not take it one bit: "You threaten my son, you threaten me" (Leigh Anne Tuohy).  Leigh Anne Tuohy cares so much for Michael that she will put anything on the line for him. By going up to those men in the worst possible part of town, she could have lost her life. However, she thought it was worth it for Michael. She treats him as her own son and stands up for him no matter what. When the Tuohy's first passed Oher, Sean (her husband) and Tuohy looked at it in two different ways: "As they drove off, Sean looked over and saw tears streaming down Leigh Anne's face. And he thought: Uh-oh, my wife's about to take over" (Lewis 58). Because Sean is not a mom, he did not have the same reaction as Leigh Anne. She reacted with her heart right away, with the feeling that it was her responsibility to do something. Then, she used her head and decided this boy needed a home and a family. As a mother, Leigh Anne treats Michael and her other kids with more love and care than most other moms in Memphis, which shows that she is a caring person--especially because Oher was just a random boy she found on the street, who ended up becoming her son.

 Leigh Anne Tuohy's humility, determination, and motherly love make her a hero. Without Tuohy, Michael Oher would be homeless or even dead right now. She did so much for one kid, but has inspired so many other people that it just never ends. What can you do to change someone's life?

Works Consulted

Dolan, Ross. "'Blind Side's' Tuohys urge people to 'turn around' and make a difference." Daily Republic, The (Mitchell, SD) 29 Dec. 2011: Newspaper Source. Web. 2 May 2012.

Deirdre, Donahue. "Ravens star Oher tells his side." USA Today n.d.: Newspaper Source. Web. 3 May 2012.

Leigh Anne Tuohy Shares Her Blind Side Story." SheKnows. Web. 03 May 2012.

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Lewis, Michael. The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game. New York: W.W. Norton, 2006. Print.

"Michael Oher- Baltimore Ravens- All The Stories." Leigh Anne Tuohy: Sandra Bullock's Baby Is Beautiful. Web. 17 May 2012. .

"The Blind Side True Story - Real Leigh Anne Tuohy, Michael Oher." ChasingtheFrog.com. Chasing the Frog. Web. 08 May 2012. .