I began selling drugs as a freshman in high school. I was a talented athlete and gifted academically, yet I lacked wisdom and a healthy vision for myself. Additionally, like most inner city Black kids, I had some other voids to fill as well. Money seemed to be a quick fix for all of my problems.
I wound up getting kicked out of every high school I attended—five total. I was released from juvenile detention on my 18th birthday, and I was shot only a few months later over a money-related altercation. I lost a gallon and a half of blood, and I almost lost my life.
I took heed to the warning and second chance God had given me by changing my life. I got my GED and enrolled in community college, graduating with a 3.5 GPA. I then went on to Morehouse College to earn a bachelor’s degree in Psychology with a minor in African American Studies, graduating cum laude!
My personal mission has been and still is instilling the hope into urban Black males that we can be far more than just drug dealers, gangsters and destroyers of our community. We are builders, thinkers, scientists, doctors and anything else we choose to be. I seek to motivate others!