Gym Candy The Easy Way Out. An Essay About Sport and Steroids

Gym Candy is a book about a young football player who wants to be the best and decides to start taking steroids. At first, I thought the book would be very boring because I'm not a big football fan and I usually gravitate towards YA fiction and books such as Everything, Everything and The Hate You Give. But after reading the book, I completely disagree with my original opinion. While reading the book, I realized that the subject is way beyond football. It's about the struggle of perfection and the things we'll do to get there. I think that even though this book is about football and steroids, there are many constructive lessons in Gym Candy like being able to talk to someone, knowing there are many unexpected things in life, and the fact that you can't cheat your way out of it.

One of the first constructive lessons in Gym Candy, is that you have to be able to talk to someone when you think something is wrong. In chapter 3, when Mick was about to leave Popeyes, Pete told Mick that he could hook him up with steroids and told him that there was nothing wrong with them even though he knew they were illegal. At that point, if I was in Mick's shoes, I would have told my dad. I would tell him that I don't want to stop training there, and that Pete is a good trainer but that I have concerns. At least when time comes, there'll be someone to talk to and try to talk you out of it. If not going to my dad, I would tell Drew because at that point he was Mick's best friend and he would be able to help. Since it could ruin you and your career is apparently not a good enough motive, at least knowing that other people know about the steroids would be a good incentive to not to use them.

Additionally, there is the lesson of knowing that there are many unexpected things in life. It's unexpected that he would continue the steroids even though he was almost caught. It's unexpected that he started them in the first place. It's unexpected that he would kill himself. He brought the gun for safety. He wasn't scared for Drew. He was scared of himself. He was scared of the darkness in his mind. Yet, no one noticed until he tried to end his life.

Finally, the most important constructive lesson in Gym Candy is that you can't cheat your way out of life.I learned that you cannot rely on the “easy way out”. That path has its own struggles and risks.In your life, you are going to have to do things that are difficult. However, that shouldn't stop you from doing what you can to the best of your ability. You may need some help on the way but you don't need to cheat or lie to get out of tough situations.

All in all, while Gym Candy is about football and steroids, there are many constructive lessons in the book. Being able to talk to someone can help you in the long run. You never know what's coming but you should always be ready. And there is no such thing as an easy way out. In life, things will get hard but you just have to learn to push through them, be true to yourself, and do what you think is right.