Day I - Illegal Past

No...I haven't forgotten about the ABC Blog Challenge.

Today is being brought to you by the Letter I...

...and here I go making it my own again...

Let me introduce you to someone.  (Not like I know him personally or anything...but I find his story intriquing...and his story fits today's topic for the challenge)

This is Mark Wahlberg.

Formerly known as "Marky Mark"

Bahahaha...Sorry. Couldn't resist....

You can read more about his story and his accomplishments here and here.  For the purposes of the challenge, I'm just going to give you the jist of it and why I chose him for my post today.

This is the main reason.  When I heard the interview for the first time, I got out my phone and recorded a snip it of the interview, just to make sure I had it to hear again.

It's not a secret that Mark had numerous run-ins with police as a child and that he became addicted to cocaine and other drugs by the age of 13.  He dropped out of school at the age of 14.  He was convicted of assault at age 16, and as a result of his assault conviction, he was sentenced to serve 50 days in prison.  It was while he was there, that it hit him.  He was surrounded in the prison by people from his "hood"...guys that were just a few years older than him...guys he knew...and that wasn't what he wanted for his life.

Today, we know Mark Wahlberg as a successful actor, producer and musician.  He is a husband and a father.  A devout Catholic.  He attends church every day.  We could all learn a few things from him, and I'm not just talking about his faith. If you listen to the interview, Mark talks about how even if he doesn't go to mass every day, he still makes the time to go to church.  He said it 'gives him the opportunity for him to focus his day, while expressing his gratitude and it allows him to clear his head so that he can focus upon his actions as well as the elements in his life that he needs to avoid.'

The part of the interview that I recorded for myself was when he said, "I pray to be a good servant to God, a father, a husband, a son, a friend, a brother and uncle, a good neighbor, a good leader to those who look up to me and a good follower to those that are serving God and doing the right thing.”  I think we could all say his prayer.

I think a lot of the time people do not know what to pray for.  I know I find myself in that position a lot, not wanting to always be asking of God.  So, I've learned something from Marky Mark.

If you don't read the whole interview.  At least scroll down to the interview with Piers Morgan and listen to that.  It was very insightful.