After the incident with the science teacher, Junior attempts to make friends with the class genius, Gordy. Through the help of his new friend, Gordy, Junior learns that while it is important to be a part of a community, he also has to figure out who he is without the community. This is exactly what being shunned by his tribe members from the reservation lets him discover.
Along with his hardships with his tribe and the lessening troubles at school, Junior is hit with unexpected loss. First his grandmother, who he looked up to as a role model, gets hit by a drunk driver and dies in emergency surgery. Then his dad's best friend, who was like an uncle to him, is shot in the face after a bar brawl. Filled with grief, Junior misses a lot of school and when he eventually does come back, one of his teachers decides it's a good time to mock him for missing so much school. She says"... I didn't realize you still went to this school..." and when she does Gordy stands up and drops his textbook on the ground, every single other student in the class follows suit and they walk out. Through this, they show Junior that they love him, that they will have his back. That is more than his tribe on the reservation ever did. By stepping out of his comfort zone and challenging himself through going to a new school, he proved his worth, not just to others but to himself as well. He learns that "[t]he world is only broken into two tribes: The people who are a**holes and the people who are not" (pg. 176), he figured out that it doesn't matter what color your skin is, it matters if you are kind, and if you stick up for the people around you.
Another big part of Junior's life, both at Reardan and back when he went to school on the reservation, is basketball. When he was going to school on the reservation, his former best friend, Rowdy, was always more aggressive and scored more points. However, when he got to Reardan and made the Varsity team, he became good because that was what was expected of him. He calls this "[t]he power of expectations" (pg. 180). His team, his coach, and himself expected more of him so he rose to those expectations. When it came down to playing the high school on his reservation, he was nervous, and scared but his coach knew he could do it. "Do you understand how amazing it is to hear [you can do it] from an adult? Do you know how amazing it is to hear that from anybody? It's one of the simplest sentences in the world, just four words, but they're the four hugest words in the world when they're put together" (pg. 189). Having someone believe in him was what he needed not only for winning that important game, but for succeeding in school and in life. By leaving the reservation, and actively searching for a better chance in life Junior found a community full of adults and students he could depend on and who wouldn't just look at him as a scrawny somewhat deformed kid, but as a young man who could one day make a difference, and "be remembered" (pg. 112).
Not many kids have the guts that Junior did when he decided to chase his chance at a better life, nor do they have the kind of support he did. He was lucky that his parents wanted him to succeed and wanted him to chase his dreams. The environment he was in at the high school on the reservation wasn't one where he would be able to thrive, not just because of the lack of funds the school had, but also because of the number of kids who picked on him. By transferring, he not only gave himself a better chance, he also gave himself a better learning environment where he was surrounded by people who believed in him.
I am extremely lucky and fortunate that my parents are able to provide me an amazing education, but most importantly that they believe I can accomplish my goals and succeed. Having a support system is very important and something that is hard to do well in school without for the majority of students.