Roland is Regina’s younger brother, whom Marshawn decided to look up to. Unlike Marshawn, Ro grew up in Pomona outside Los Angeles in a middle-class family. This means that Ro did not experience the struggles and violence that Marshawn saw when he grew up. Ro’s successes motivated Marshawn since he saw what he could potentially achieve. Ro was an inspiration to Marshawn also because he played sports and had a 3.23 average grade. Hence, Ro’s story is an inspiration because he used his natural predispositions and his social status to succeed in life. After graduation, he secured a good-paying job and bought an apartment, which is something that Marshawn looked up to. One inspirational thing about Ro is that although he grew up in a peaceful neighborhood, unlike Marshawn, he was still driven towards achievements and decided to do sports, study well, and build a successful career.
An important lesson one can learn from Ro is his regard for his family and community. When he was offered a job in Honk Kong, he called Regina to discuss his plan of inviting Marshawn to stay in Honk Kong. Evidently, Ro knew about the difficult circumstances that Marshawn lived in, the gang violence, and the lack of perspective for the future if Marshawn was to stay at Chalktown, despite him being a bright young man.
Hence, it is probable that he invited Marshawn because he wanted to help him excel and escape the violence that he faced on a daily. However, Ro was not obliged to look after Marshawn or to help him, and he did this out of his own goodwill, which is inspirational because it shows the importance of social support and helping others if possible. Arguably, if it was not for Ro’s offer to move to Hong Kong, Marshawn would struggle to move out of Chalktown and find a better way to live since he would be constrained by the social environment around him.
