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vancelot23
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Linebacker Aaron Maybin is considered to be a bust by nearly any definition of the word. The former number eleven overall pick, who signed with the Cincinnati Bengals this offseason, is on his third team in four years, and maybe be running out of chances in the NFL. Adding to the difficulty of reviving his career is the prospect of doing so while learning a new position, something that can prove nearly impossible, even for the most talented of players. He'll need to persevere through a lot of hard work in order to get where he wants to be. However, perseverance is something Aaron Maybin has in spades.
Maybin's battles with tragedy began early in life, with his mother passing away when he was six due to complications with childbirth. He also began painting and drawing as a means of pushing through the tragedy and dealing with his attention-deficit disorder. Football and art became his means of escape from a world of pain and trouble, and he was equally adept at both. He carried this love of two seemingly opposite endeavors with him through his childhood and then into adulthood. Unfortunately, it wasn't the only time he had to use art to deal with personal hardship.
In 2010, Maybin suffered another heartbreak when his son was stillborn. His daughter, born on the same day, helped him heal and his art, once again, became an outlet for his grief. In one particularly powerful piece, he paints a picture of himself wearing a smiling jester mask, but crying underneath with a set of baby-sized footprints in the upper corner, a representation of his inner demons hidden underneath a smiling outer self. Maybin pours his emotion, whether its tragedy or just frustration, into his art, and is able to spin ugliness in his life into something beautiful. In the face of unfathomable pain, he stays the course, and something positive comes out of it.
Now, he faces another challenge, one for his future in the NFL. He goes into this offseason determined to turn around his career and be the player he expects himself to be. He's a gifted athlete, and he very well might be the next player saved by Mike Zimmer and the Bengals, but there's a chance it just wasn't meant to be. Many would say failing at the NFL is the worth thing that could happen, but he's already been through worse. If he can't make things work, and his NFL dream ends this offseason, Aaron Maybin will persevere. It's what he does.
Linebacker Aaron Maybin is considered to be a bust by nearly any definition of the word. The former number eleven overall pick, who signed with the Cincinnati Bengals this offseason, is on his third team in four years, and maybe be running out of chances in the NFL. Adding to the difficulty of reviving his career is the prospect of doing so while learning a new position, something that can prove nearly impossible, even for the most talented of players. He'll need to persevere through a lot of hard work in order to get where he wants to be. However, perseverance is something Aaron Maybin has in spades.
Maybin's battles with tragedy began early in life, with his mother passing away when he was six due to complications with childbirth. He also began painting and drawing as a means of pushing through the tragedy and dealing with his attention-deficit disorder. Football and art became his means of escape from a world of pain and trouble, and he was equally adept at both. He carried this love of two seemingly opposite endeavors with him through his childhood and then into adulthood. Unfortunately, it wasn't the only time he had to use art to deal with personal hardship.
In 2010, Maybin suffered another heartbreak when his son was stillborn. His daughter, born on the same day, helped him heal and his art, once again, became an outlet for his grief. In one particularly powerful piece, he paints a picture of himself wearing a smiling jester mask, but crying underneath with a set of baby-sized footprints in the upper corner, a representation of his inner demons hidden underneath a smiling outer self. Maybin pours his emotion, whether its tragedy or just frustration, into his art, and is able to spin ugliness in his life into something beautiful. In the face of unfathomable pain, he stays the course, and something positive comes out of it.
Now, he faces another challenge, one for his future in the NFL. He goes into this offseason determined to turn around his career and be the player he expects himself to be. He's a gifted athlete, and he very well might be the next player saved by Mike Zimmer and the Bengals, but there's a chance it just wasn't meant to be. Many would say failing at the NFL is the worth thing that could happen, but he's already been through worse. If he can't make things work, and his NFL dream ends this offseason, Aaron Maybin will persevere. It's what he does.
