He absolutely hated his time with the Dooley’s and actively searched for a new hosting family (going back home with not an option as Matthew had made a handshake agreement to stay for the year, one he would never break). We see Matthew’s maverick nature exposed through his decision to not only change himself with the aforementioned discipline but also look to change his environment (a recurring theme in his life), when necessary. I would advocate for some people, keeping a journal would be a wise method for self-reflection and development. Around this time, he would also write long letters home (although he acknowledges that they were more cathartic for his personal benefit in reality). For Matthew, this meant turning vegetarian, running 6 miles a day and becoming abstinent for 9 months. We would all be wise to utilise some of this theory, looking inwards rather than outwards to make a change. The book is filled with examples where Matthew finds a way to change lanes and adopt smart coping mechanisms to deal with the hiccups life throws at us.
They lived in a minuscule village, hours away from Sydney (the closest city) and had some very strange ideas as to how Matthew should behave, including calling them Mum and Dad! Rather than complain at the harsh and frankly bizarre treatment, Matthew decided to seek discipline and purpose elsewhere for his own sanity. Whilst in Australia on the exchange trip, Matthew was placed with a very peculiar family, the Dooley’s. Throughout the book, Matthew shows time and again, the importance of chasing down one’s dreams and seizing the opportunity, if you take but one thing from the memoir, perhaps this is one of its greatest lessons. His parents were supportive of Matthew following his dreams and encouraged him to be an individual (as you’ll see later, he really is a maverick), this manifested itself in the first instance when an opportunity to spend a year abroad in Australia presented itself. His father was physically abusive to his mother and even literally fought his children as a right of passage to adulthood. Raised in an unconventional setting, Matthew’s parents had been married on three separate occasions… to one another! From his father, he learned persistence, loyalty, discipline and work ethic. The key is to navigate these and recognise that with the right approach these stops and pauses in and of themselves are ‘greenlights’ of sorts. However, the reality is that life is plagued with what he calls red and yellow lights. The title, ‘Greenlights’, refers to Matthew’s construct that in life we are actively searching for the positive ‘continue down this road sign’.
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