How I motivated myself to become successful

Ever since I was a child, I always had big dreams and plans of making it out of Wilmington, Delaware. It took a lot of thinking about what I wanted to do in the future. It was not the easiest thing to do, but I did it.  

I grew up in the north side of Wilmington ,Delaware, which is one of the smallest cities and states in the United States. At an early age, I witnessed a lot of violence and negativity in the city of Wilmington. I just wanted to be different from everyone else. 

Thomas Edison Charter School is a school across the street from my house. I went there for elementary school and through middle school until seventh grade. Most students who went there lived in my neighborhood. Going to this school was a bad experience for most students because students tried to get me to do drugs, skip class and join their gang. They were the ones who would play on my basketball court in my backyard without any permission. Of course, I joined them playing basketball and we would play outside all day until the sunset.

My friends used to love drama and talked bad about anyone every time we spent time together. That was something I was not used to because my family raised me right and always taught me to keep negative thoughts about someone to yourself.

My friendship with them did not last long because I realized that they were not loyal. I remember one day coming home from school and someone had broken into my garage and stole the dirt bikes, skateboards and other personal belongings that belonged to my brother and me. 

It took several months for me to find out who did it, but it became obvious because after that happened, they stopped coming around. After that day, my mother made me transfer schools and I ended up living with my grandparents for a few years.  

A specific memory that I will never forget is when my father was fatally shot and killed around the corner from my house back in 2008. That is the moment that made my life change completely. Since he has been gone, I’ve felt lonely and realized that I lived in a terrible and dangerous area.

I have been traumatized ever since this and it took a long time for me to get my mind right and open my eyes to my surroundings. I realized that everything happens for a reason and God puts his toughest soldiers in the toughest situations. I forced myself to stay in school and I have always wanted to be the first grandchild in my family to graduate from college.

In the city of Wilmington, it is extremely easy to fall between the cracks and to take the wrong path by being in the streets, selling drugs or going to jail. That is not what I wanted for myself, so I made sure to always remain positive and do the right things in life. My family and close friends have always told me that I can make it out of the trenches. All I had to do was continue to be smart and put my mind into what I loved doing, which was playing basketball.  

Since adulthood, it has been scary because there are a lot of people that I know who are now dead or in jail. Luckily, I am currently in college focused on sports and academics. I am keeping my mind in the right direction. I have always been hesitant to look at Delaware online crime report because it could very easily be anyone that I know on there. Wilmington Delaware has a nickname of “killington hellaware” because of how bad it is. In 2017, Wilmington was ranked as the 5th most dangerous city because of the crime rates. I have been and still am terrified to even be in Wilmington because you never know what could happen.  

I am glad that I am in the position I am today, a student-athlete in college. It is a blessing from God that I am in the position that I am in. He has helped to guide me throughout the tough experiences and rough patches in my life growing up. One day I hope to lead by example and become the face of Delaware which could give people someone to look up to and someone for them to model their lives after.