Another Look at Billy Mills' Journey

 By the middle film Running Brave, it can be seen the struggle Billy Mills encounters with himself. After having won many races and giving the Kansas University a championship, Billy suddenly “breaks down” mentally. He begins losing races until he leaves and returns back to his home, the reservation. I believe his internal journey was affected by the visit of some family members to Kansas. They made him feel as if he didn’t belong in the city life, so he began asking himself what was he doing there and that people were using him to get money over his races. Pat, his girlfriend and future wife, tries to talk to him but he leaves anyway.

Billy is confused of who he really is, what is his role in life. He says he had a love for running, but now he became a “running machine”.  His decisions might not have been a good effort into reaching his dream, which was to run in the Olympics in Tokyo, but at least he spent some time with his family, especially with Frank who was drunk and shortly committed suicide. This was a great shock for Billy, since he had a great relation with Frank, almost like brothers. This event, and Pat’s telegram expressing that she loved him and wanted him to be back, gave Billy’s journey a complete twist. After much struggle with his mind, Billy Mills joined the Marine and reunited with Pat. His mind was set on going to the Olympics in Tokyo, winning the race was his dream. A dream which, with hard effort, came true. At the end of the film, Billy goes back to the United States, and is received as a hero.

I believe Mills' internal journey had great effect on the decisions he took; there were many ups and downs as in all of us, but that was what built him as a person and unbeatable runner. Personally, I liked the fact that Billy never changed who he was or denied his ethnicity in the process of reaching his goal, eventhough there was a time when he doubted about himslef and his ability to run. As we can see, the film provides us some of the psycological stages Billy Mills passed as part of his internal journey. He also had a quality to admire which was humbleness. In return, he became stronger and wiser everyday at his young age. This lead Mills to win not only a World Championship, but to be a role model for indians in reservations in the country, as well as all of us.

 

Reflection on Billy Mills

Billy Mills, as a young man, experienced a great change in his life being born in Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, and being the first of his family to go to college. It all began when a coach saw his potential at a race in Custer County High school, in which he over passed the current state record, and took him to be part of the Kansas University race team. His journey had just begun. All the vivid memories he left behind in search for his dream constantly overtook his thoughts as he was on his way to campus. As part of his internal journey, Billy had flashbacks about his childhood. He remembered Frank, whom had taught him to run, and the inspiration his father gave him before dying. And as he deeply expressed: “Frank told me what to do with my legs; my dad told me what to do with my heart.”

As we can see throughout the film Running Brave, his external journey consisted mostly on the way he related to different people, and his encounter with modern-city life. Many of them at first sight judged him for being Indian and not “white”; all except for a girl he had met in a party. “Everything is different from home”, he said. Billy suffered from bully and was treated inferior after revealing his identity. Though, he was strong enough to know what he wanted and not be affected by people’s offenses toward him. In a letter to his sister, Billy let the audience know that he wanted his family to be proud of him, for that he decided to work harder every day. Billy had realized his talents and embraced his uniqueness in order to reach success, winning the race. Both his internal and external journeys helped him become a strong, admirable leader. All the knowledge gained through his studies, especially in his new journey, he used them to help others. Billy Mills was, and still is an inspiration by acquiring traits of an honorable person.

Welcome

Welcome to Journey. 

Come with me, lets open our wings to liberty!