Hole in My Life by Jack Gantos: Everyone Makes Mistakes

As humans, we are prone to making many mistakes throughout the entirety of our lives, but luckily we have developed the ability to learn from said mistakes. Hole in My Life’s Jack Gantos and Robert Downey Jr. are perfect examples that people make mistakes in life. Both men have gone through serious defeats in their lives but were able to find a way to overcome and progress from those challenges towards a much better state of mind as well as the quality of life. Their mistakes helped mold them into the person they were meant to be. As humans we all make mistakes. The truth is that not all mistakes are considered to stay a bad thing. One example of a human made mistake would be our increasing reliance of plastic. According to Janet Larens, director of the Earth Policy Institute, ‘a trillion single-use plastic bags are used each years, nearly 2 million each minute.” As the population grows, it only ensures that more and more people will continue to rely on single-use plastic. Unfortunately, plastic is very essential in everything we interact with. As useful as it may be, it can have have a harmful effect on the environment. Dr. Jenna Jambeck, from the University of Georgia, stated that in 2017 a large sperm whale was found beached on the ocean with 64 pounds of trash in its digestive tract.

We can learn from mistakes when it comes to how we deal with our plastic consumption. Hundreds of nonprofit organizations around the world have already identified the impact of single-use plastic. These organization educate educate countries on the importance of recycling and how to properly dispose of unnecessary waste. Our mistake of relaying on plastic is catching up to society. With new developments on how to recycle and new invention that can one day replace plastic. It shows that humans are willing to change to stop a preventable mistake we deal with in today's age. As humans it's important to identify mistakes before it leads down to an uneventful chain of events.

Dealing on a much smaller scale, Jack Gantos and Robert Downey can both say they have made mistakes throughout their lives. As humans, we are bound to make mistakes, but Jack and Robert didn't let their previous mistakes define who they are. Jack Gantos made the mistake of smuggling hash in New York to make enough money to attend college. He was offered $10,000 dollars to sail from the Caribbean to the United States. Gantos stated that he was not afraid of the action, he was afraid of the punishment if he was caught. Unfortunately for Jack, hes was caught by the FBI and sent to prison. “My mistakes, my self-doubt and insecurities got the best of me” (Gantos 185-186). It's just human nature to commit mistakes.

Robert Downey Jr.’s story can parallel with Jack Gantos’s. Robert dealt with the human mistakes of substance abuse. Even at a young age, Robert Downey Jr. was exposed to drugs due the life of his father. Since the age of six, Roberts’s father allowed him to use marijuana and surrounded him with different types of drugs. His father was a drug addict so Downey believed that drugs created the emotional bond between them. Eventually, his habits became worse over time. The struggling actor was constantly getting arrested for drug related charges. Such as heroin and cocaine. The lowest point for the actor however,was he was found inside his neighbor’s home passed out on their beds. Downey was on parole and at the time, he was under the influence of heroin. “The actor looked sickly and depressed when brought into Malibu municipal court on July 22 for his arraignment with his hands cuffed behind his back.” (Gliatto,Tom). Downey know he had potential to become a great actor. It was at that point the actor know it was time to change his life around.

Both of these individuals made some drastic mistakes in their lives, but that didn’t stop them becoming what they knew they could become. The mistakes Jack made gave him the time he needed to start his journey as a writer. He learned how to benefit from his mistakes. With the time he spent in jail, he focused on reading and writing. In prison, Jack believed he was given second chance. Even within prion, Jack wrote his fill of serious subjects and was accepted into Graham Junior College. Jack Gantos didn't let his past stop his future. Now Jack Gantos is an established award winning author. He writes picture books for children and speaks to young people in classrooms and prisons.

Robert Downey Jr. definitely didn't let his past define him. After five years of dealing with substance abuse and rehab, Robert was ready to change his life for the better. Slowly but surely he returned back to the acting scene. From realizing the past mistakes he’s made began to take acting more serious. Downey had some troubles when returning to Hollywood however. Casting agents were hesitant to work with him because of all the publicity that followed him. Downey knew that this was the price he had to pay to make up his previous mistakes. He wanted to prove to people that he has potential of becoming a great actor. Now looking at his past it's hard to believe he had such a dark history. Today, Robert Downey Jr. is one of the worlds most known actors. Even with such a difficult childhood, he didn't let these mistakes define what he could be. Humans will always commit mistakes but mistakes cannot prevent potential one has to become something truly great. Time after time as a society we will continue the pattern of making mistakes but with every mistake, there is an opportunity to learn. Jack Gantos and Robert Downey Jr. both have great journeys with mistakes. Even though they made these mistakes in life, that didn't retrain them from chasing their true goal of becoming something in life. The mistakes the make in the past, helped them fight to what they have become today.