Lance Armstrong

Erin Callison December 10, 2003

Rough Draft: English Paper

"Some things you can't win, though I don't like to admit it. I'm not used to losing much of anything, whether it's a race or a debate, but among things I've nearly lost are my life, my neck, and my good name, and I've gained a realization: a life of unbroken success is not only impossible, its probably not even good for you. Some losses are more tolerable than others, and some things are unrecoverable, and the echelons of loss change in crisis. It's surprising what you can let go of, depending on the circumstances. For instance, my hair." In that small segment, is everything Lance Armstrong, a professional cyclist is made of.. Yes sure, he is among a range of other things. But he has his own definition of 'odds.' The dictionary says that the word 'odds' means the probability of something happening. Lance Armstrong has redefined probability. He was hopeful when doctors asked him to make up a will. He is there for those who suffer like he did. He is the type of person to walk into a room and everyone stop talking just to clap for him. He has dazzled so many with his talent as a professional cyclist, as a father, and most importantly maintained himself as a "Cancer Survivor", not a victim. He has what you might call "ambition." But really he just has goals, and he strives everyday to meet the aspects of his goals. Cancer was a wakeup call for Lance, telling him he had a new lease on life, and to use it well, and everyday he uses his lease, with all the power he has. But the story of this ambitious one starts now.

Lance Armstrong was born on September 18th, 1971, in Plano, Texas. His mother was both a father and a mother to him, since his biological father deserted him before birth. When Lance was born, his mother was very poor. She was working at 'Kentucky Fried Chicken' Fast-food restaurant, making only about $400 a month. But Lance's mother is very ambitious as well. Soon after his birth she found a new job as a secretary making a whooping $12,000 a year. Even though, that was still low, Lance remembers having small luxuries, like 'slurpees' from Seven-Eleven. But Lance's mother always made sure he was fed, his clothes were washed, and he took a shower at least every other day. The only thing his mother gave him that he didn't want was a stepfather. Terry Armstrong, a devout Christian, married Linda Armstrong when Lance was ten. Terry, when Lance was eleven adopted him. Although soon after the adoption Terry became violent, and started to beat Lance, when his mother wasn't around. When Lance was just becoming a teenager they got a divorce. That solved a lot of problems.

Lance has always been athletic. When he and his mother lived in an Apartment building outside Austin, Lance would walk down to the bike store every morning before his mother would take him to school, just to look at the bikes. Luckily, the owner there sponsored teens, who wanted to become tri-athletes. This sounded interesting to Lance, because he didn't like the normal sports they played in gym class like football or soccer. And soon lance was on his way to becoming