Seth Emerson has an excellent story today on Macon.com about Jakar Hamilton's difficult childhood and relationship with his father.  It's a moving story, and well with a click-over to read. (It's also interesting to hear about how South Carolina failed to continue recruiting him after he went to GMC, after which time he chose to transfer to Georgia.)

One of the quotes that stood out most to me was this one from Jakar:

As a child, I tried to blame [my hard situation] on [my father]. But as I got older, I realized that I have to live my life. I have to live my life and make decisions for my own. That’s what I finally came to realize, and that’s what I did.

Such maturity is rarely seen in a world where most people are looking to blame someone else for their lot in life. 

I would have been cheering for him anyway just because he's a Dawg, but I'll now be cheering even louder for this man who's been able to lift himself out of challenging life circumstances to become successful at a Division I-A football program... and even more importantly, in school and life.