Family First

Role Model. The cliche that "the rich get richer, while the poor get poorer" does have some significance. For the absence of a role model in the lives of many children today affects their view of success. Much more opportunities are available to those that have the resources to make their respective situations better, while youths in underprivileged contexts are unable to grasp beyond their reach.

A major part of growing up is spent dreaming. During my childhood, I would dream of a place where I could be whatever I wanted to be as long as I set my mind to it. This statement in and of itself is vague because without a source of guidance or a real figure to create that sense of reality, your eyes never open up to the world. These elusive obstacles are what prevent people from taking action and cause them to otherwise settle.

I am the first in my family to attend law school. Listening and meeting Barack Obama about one year ago woke me up from my dream. I knew what I wanted my contribution to the world to be; however, I did not know how I was going to tangibly go about that. In the sense of the above analogy, I was poor. I would have settled for a position that would have prevented me from positively affecting the lives of others because I was doing only what I knew since I did not know better.

In order to levy this agenda, I must begin by being a leader within my family. I am a son, brother, nephew, cousin, and Godson. Before I can impact a much greater stage, I must begin with my family first.