Pat's life is full of obstacles that either fortify his personality or strengthens his families bond with him. His first notable obstacle would be the incident at the Round Table, where he inadvertently destroyed the face of a young man on a rival football team. The incident showed how little Pat thought about what he was getting into, instead of assessing the situation as it stood he succumbed to pure instinct. His then girlfriend Marie describes Pat during his berserker moment by saying ".and in his frenzied state he didn't pause to inquire. Overreacting to the perceived threat to Hechtle, pat went berserk " (Krakauer 47). Pat's overall character was not the question of this book, infact he is referred to as kind, gentle and thoughtful throughout the whole book. This incident shows Pat's first real mistake, and how he deals with it in order to surpass and overcome. This is the point in most kids lives where they consider their future and realize the end of senior year and beginning of college is a major turning point in their lives, for Pat its beyond the transition to college and the start down a career in the NFL. This is Pat's trial by fire portion of his journey, without this segment of his life there would be no Pat Tillman journey. It's the first hurdle thats the hardest.
The most unpredictable part about a personal journey is that it can happen at anytime in someones life, and for whatever reason. For Pat, his journey directed him through life, gave him guidance and helped him along every step of the way. Not all journeys portray themselves like that, some dress themselves up as one giant obstacle. Cheryl Strayed wrote a book called Wild which is about her overcoming the thousand plus mile trail through deserts and mountains. Unlike Pat Tillman, her journey isn't about her life, instead its about how she gets hers back. With the tragic loss of her mother to cancer, Cheryl loses her way and thus begins her journey back to a place she can feel comfortable.