Growing up, I identified as just African because I spent most of my childhood in Africa. Since getting back to the United States, I now identify as African-American. Though I believe I might be bisexual, I still classify myself as heterosexual. Even though society sees women has the homemaker and men as the provider, that didn’t stop my mum from teaching all her kids including my brother how to clean after himself, cook and to do every other thing society expects only girls to do at home. Even
Defeated, embarrassed, humbled… These are just a few of the emotions that I felt as I sat alone in the back corner of an empty restaurant on a Saturday night. The accumulation of recent failures was unfamiliar, and too much to handle. In front of two thousand people, I had just suffered a second-to-last finish, running a time that a year ago in high school would have earned a medal at the Area meet. I had run decently for myself, and still never had I experienced such defeat. On top of that, I was
I grew up in Greenville, South Carolina. Having had grown up in the south, I was always around people who are more traditional in viewpoints, especially when surrounding the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transsexual/Transgender, Questioning, and more community. I received my education at a high school where no one hesitated to throw around extremely derogatory terms. Throughout my schooling I had found close friends who had expressed their feelings of not fitting into their biological sex. Every time I
Three days a week, sixteen students drag themselves out of bed before the crack of dawn, wishing they had an extra ten minutes of sleep. Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, without fail, they begrudgingly get ready for the day as they pack their bags and eat breakfast. As one of these sixteen students, I myself often wondered if what I am about to do will be worth the lost hour of sleep and studying. But ultimately, I, along with the other fifteen, continue to drag myself slowly towards school week
There once was a time where I had no expectations on what was to come. Whenever I attempted to picture my future, I couldn’t. I did not know my career goals or any of my hobbies. Fortunately, the summer of 2014 changed everything for me. It was the summer I first volunteered to help with vacation bible school at my church. From that moment on, I had a fresh mindset and new goals. I permanently found an activity I enjoyed doing. Following that summer, I volunteered with VBS the three summers after
When I was nine years old I learned a lesson that everyone should learn at some point. It was that I do not always know best. One sunny day as I was sitting in the backyard of my grandparent’s house, I watched as the neighbor’s daughter mowed their lawn. She was about my age at the time but I thought that that made her look much older. I decided that I wanted to try too and asked my grandfather if I could drive his lawn mower. He said that he thought I was too young and I would not be able to do
Many are raised and taught by their parents certain morals and values to live by. As a young boy, I had been educated to take action and work for things myself. My parents strongly stressed that I learn to become independent in order to get ahead in life. At the time, I had never been put in such a position in which my actions had no impact whatsoever. In my own universe, I believed that I, a young boy, was the center of all attention, the most significant factor of my environment. For example, I
Throughout the last four weeks, I have been educated on the importance of studying the Bible. As well as how to properly do so and how to apply scripture to my everyday life. There are many tools that can be used for deeper understanding when approaching the Bible. This essay will serve to demonstrate those tools as well as interpret a section in the book of James and apply it to everyday life. The book of James is known as a general epistle, this means that what he says to his intended group
Stubborn is how my Mom would describe my personality. My Dad, on the other hand, always said I was tenacious. He believed our greatest strength can be found by understanding our weaknesses. As a child, he explained that being stubborn is a negative attribute. According to him, people do not like when they meet an inflexible brick wall. Tenacity, on the other hand, can be a powerful tool. It shows people you are determined and persistent. He wanted me to understand that a strength can sometimes be
I truly believe that in order to work with youth, you must first understand what it means to be a youth. I am not referring to the vague age-range that usually begins somewhere after your teenage years and ends briefly before college, or the memorable moment when puberty began or the onset of your menstrual cycle, which society often refers to as the beginning of growing up. Instead of viewing youth as a group of individuals who share similar ages, I like to think of youth as an experience; one that