To the young hearts, this is my encouragement to you on why you should never give up on an open opportunity, something you wish for, a dream or a desire. Walking away may come easy, however many people feel regret after and wish they had never done it.

I had a rough childhood; I probably should have been a product of my environment, but instead I choose to persevere through it.
As far back as I could remember, all I knew as a child was violence, anger, threats, fear, terror, and did not know what tomorrow may bring. I never heard I love you in my household, I thought this was normal. I was raised by my mother and my step – father, I also have two sisters. My step – father had a drinking problem and occasionally did drugs, this made him an angry and violent person. At a young age this was my every-day. We never knew what he would fight about next. There were days he would beat my mom endlessly, and we would all end up at the hospital with her. This went on for years, we were all terrified of him. This behavior caused us lots of problems, he would be on and off from work, which didn’t give us stability. I remember there were times we didn’t even have funds to pay for typical things like hot water and we would just go without. These were very tough seasons. My mother tried her best to keep us safe. My mother’s suffering was very hard to watch. A lot of these memories in my early years now as an adult I don’t remember any more, my brain erased years and now are gaps in my memory because of the trauma, the brain will do that.

By the time I entered elementary school I remember he eventually stopped doing drugs with the help of my mom, somehow, she still found it in her heart to help him and stay. She was and still is one of the most loving individuals I know. He did however continue drinking and that still caused problems. I had a lot of untold wounds by this time. I didn’t really know another way to cope besides not talking about it.
I was very timid in school, very quiet, petite and barely had any friends. Gym was my favorite part because I got to play, laugh and forget what was going on at home. I remember when fifth grade track came around my gym teacher had the class participate, he timed us as we ran and figured out, I was actually very fast and good at sports. He approached me that season and asked me if I wanted to participate and run for the school competitions. He was convinced I’d do well. I was not used to this type of attention and did not know how to respond. I wanted to say I don’t see anything good in me, I can run and what was the big deal. All I knew was defeat, sadness, loneliness, fear and doubt, but he saw something positive, good, worth something and capable. Well, before I totally gave up the opportunity; I told him OK I’ll try. This coach and his enthusiasm made me believe in myself. He made me believe I can do something and do it well.

I really succeeded at track, I got more and more involved. I tried out for long jumping, high jumping and the hundred – meter dash. I literally blew myself away. Had I given up and never attempted sports I would have never known this love for it. At the competitions I placed first for the sprint race in the fifty – meter dash category and we also won the hundred – meter dash that day, it was a day to remember. I received several medals that day and a trophy. Here is more exciting news; the school I attended had other students who had great times and held records for those categories I had tried out for, I ended up breaking three records, the fifty – meter dash, the long – jumping and the high – jumping and now my times and achievements were recorded in the school board records. This was literally one of the most exciting times of my life and set the path for me in sports, which I did continue through middle school, high school and still now.

My life changed for the better and I had something to look forward to. I found a passion, hope, self – esteem, confidence, new skills and friends. I am glad I chose to go for it and not look back. Promise yourself today that you’ll always try and never give up.