So, I had just returned home from instructing my second class in as many days and this strong sense of arrival hit me as I watched two of my sons run back and forth through the hallway. Once a college drop out, who partied his early twenties away, I sit as a business owner with a beautiful, blossoming family. I did return to college, receiving my associates and bachelors in Elementary Education. I'm not using those degrees though. I just picked up a few skills from those institutions to assist me in following the path that appears to be laid for me.
Looking back, grade school was a breeze for me academically. I was always exceptional in math and attended a technical high school for computer-aided drafting and design. Couple that with being selected to be a part of an engineering program for so called "minorities", my decision to pursue a degree in Architectural Engineering seemed appropriate and expected of me at the time. But, as I recall being in fifth grade and learning of genocide and injustice that took place on this land in social studies, something in my heart changed. Years would go by and the desire to be apart of tangible change for those who've been mistreated would simply fester. No way I was supposed to just crunch numbers all day and design projects; my spirit man wouldn't be fulfilled.
Crazy part is, I felt I had found my calling while pursuing a career as a classroom teacher. There was one problem though. I continued to educate myself outside of the classroom and school work. The more I learned and witnessed on the job, the more working in the public school system became more of a conflict of interest. Going from a level five maximum security setting with teen-aged juveniles, to a middle school, and onto the elementary level provided me with a first hand experience of the very systemic ills that sparked my soul as a young child. And even though I still work in the classroom with at-risk youth, it simply serves as a means to an end for me as I continue my journey of purpose.
As it stands now, I'm preparing for my first session of many in my firearm awareness program for the youth in the north side of Wilmington, Delaware. I would dare to say I have found my lane in the fight to help empower those who look like me. There will be more than gun safety shared with any and all kids who participate. I find real freedom in being able to speak truth to power and share default black thought with our future leaders.
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