As I read this question and ponder on how to answer, I am reminded of the parable of talents the master gave to 3 of his servants. To one he gave 5 talents, to another he gave 2 talents, and to the last parable he gave 1 talent. The first two servants multiplied their talents, while the last hid his away and did not reap anything from the talent given to him. As a young, generation Z male, I cannot withhold what I have from multiplying. It is part of my natural instinct and wisdom to know that if given any amount of money, to take that money and grow it. With $1,000 I would hastily invest it in the stock market. With the gains I make periodically, I would use it to assist my family and our needs. Taking the steps I know financially are wise decisions, I would additionally open up a 401K or Roth IRA for when I retire. I am a product of the system and I am fighting to break that chain as I make my way into this world as a young, black male. I am making strides to plan a better and brighter future for my family in the future.

Most individuals like to think of themselves as being different; but, I'd like to think of myself as naturally having a different perspective on life. You always hear of people who are either a half glass full or half glass empty type. I, myself, am a glass half full type of person. I consider myself to have more patience, decisiveness, competitiveness, and of course more creativity. To shed a little more light on how I embody these traits, I would like to share a personal story about my first time I went fishing with my grandpa at the age of 15. In my mind I was only spending time with him as a service of a grateful grandson, yet little did I know what lay ahead. Once we got in his boat, we settled on the perfect place to stop and fish. I was excited and ready to start reeling in my catch of the day, only to notice that grandpa brought fishing rods that were not in working condition. He informed me that half of the excitement is ensuring that we fix the rods while out and about to capitalize on our skill set as an "informed fisherman". Annoyed, we sat out in the blazing hot sun for 30 minutes fixing our rods before ever beginning to fish. With our rods ready to go, we looked around for our bait suddenly realizing we forgot to bring it with us in the boat. Using the only resource I had, I created our bait using some of our sandwich bread rolled up into balls that would attract the smaller fisher. Now, this was not easy and I was on the edge of losing my sanity because of course it called for more of the sandwich that I had expected. However, after another 30 minutes I was able to see a small school of skittish fish at play around our boat. Using the net, I scooped them up and we were now back in business. Squandering an hour of our time, we were ready to relax and wet our hooks, but it wasn't long before trouble was knocking at our door again. Unforeseen weather approached us and we knew there wasn't a chance in Egypt of escaping the downpour that was about to happen. As we hurdled the rain, I looked over at my grandpa and said "The two best times to fish is when it's raining and when it isn't!" So of course, we sat back down in the boat and cast our rods out again. We sat there for what seemed like hours enjoying the company of each other. The rain finally let up and the sun began to shine again. When we left our spot and headed back home, my grandpa chuckled and told me, "Everything you need to succeed in life is already in you. You will never lose; you will only win or learn." It was at that moment I understood the potential struggles in my day were only tests and trials. It was up to me to know how to handle and manage situations when the heat turned up. I made my mind up right there to always be an optimistic thinker and problem solver. Even though I didn't realize how much my grandpa watched my actions and choices of that day, I knew they were impactful and everlasting. Now at the age of 19, whenever I ride by our fishing spot I'm reminded of his words and know that my glass is always HALF FULL!

As a young, college student striving for a brighter future, I would like to personally shed light on my backstory. If I may introduce myself, I am Cameron Harrington. I come from a small town in North Carolina called Wagram and grew up in a single family home of four. I am both Lumbee Indian and Black. I hold my head high knowing that I do not fall into the statistics that America has theorized for young, minority black men like myself. I know what I am battling against in today’s world in order to reach my goals. Currently a sophmore at Fayetteville State University in North Carolina, I hold a GPA of 2.6 and recently achieved recognition of making the Dean's List this past semester. Succeeding in making progress through school, there are several plans I aim in accomplishing. After graduation of college, I dream of networking with several agencies in the field of Sports Management. I desire to land a job as a rehabilitation therapist working with injured athletes. I would love to travel through North Carolina providing my services in under-resourced communities like the one where I grew up. I one day hope to heighten my career goals with a Master’s Degree in business in pursue of opening my own facility to assist injured athletes. However, as of the present day I am eager to pass from one college year to the next with focus set on achieving records as a first generation college student in my family. Getting to this point has been a success story that I am proud to share. Coming through school I was at the top of my class in all academics. I outperformed my classmates on our state tests in both Reading and Mathematics from 3rd grade through 8th grade. As I entered high school, things began to change slightly as I became interested in football and found a new love in life. I stumbled some in my grades and no longer held the highest rank in my graduating class. After graduation, my grandfather of whom I loved beyond a shadow of a doubt and lived with the last two years of my high school career was diagnosed with acute lung cancer. He began his treatment in the fall of my first semester in college. His treatment plan was extensive and my mother was called to be by his side regularly. With no authority or leadership in my life, I began missing classes. This continued more and more as my grandpa was slipping away from me, to the point that I dropped an entire semester's load of courses. At the loss of my grandpa, I turned away from school, family, and any help that came my way as I internally fought demons I thought I was strong enough to battle. Unfortunately, I lost and began facing depression and other emotional concerns. I secretly tried to manage my own battlefield of the mind. My last straw was when my institute denied me the right to financial aid due to my status of credit hours. It was at this point, I found my family, specifically my grandmother and aunt who are strong warrior women in the flesh and spirit, running to my aid. By the grace of God, I was provided ONE more chance, however it would be without financial aid. My family fought to appeal the status in the light that I pass all of my classes. Being supported daily by my aunt, I was able to achieve All As and achieved what I never thought possible, the Dean's List!!

I once convinced a friend visiting me from Puerto Rico that our gas pumps were voice automated. I told him to put 20 dollars into the tank. I watched from inside the car as the price rose pass 15 dollars and heard him say, "Stop at 20." As the price continued to rise pass 18 dollars, my friend begins to now yell frantically at the tank to stop at 20, and it suddenly slows down. Becoming self-aware of his actions, he finds others looking at him followed by my unruly laughter inside the car. I had prepaid the 20 dollars worth of gas. Convincing someone to do something takes talent and skill. There are reasons many businessmen are successful at their job. Delivering a convincing task to someone who isn't quit sure of their direction can be directed with confidence and creative repertoire. With that being said, I would deliver the message of attending college to my peer in a manner where he would say yes before the ink finishes drying on the application. There are numerous individuals that turn away from college due to the workload of classes and field hours required. However, along with this comes a work-life balance. For example, I might discuss the fact that attending college allows you to have all the bells and whistles in life fully funding by the institute itself! Many colleges have gyms and fitness centers, cafeterias and on-site restaurants, theatres to watch plays, movie nights, concerts and festivals, sporting events, trips and traveling abroad groups, and the list goes on! I would inform him that just by attending college and maintaining their requirements, all of this could be afforded to him free of charge. Yet, the BEST part about attending college is that this level of social experiences can be magnified upon graduating and landing your dream job that will continue to provide these opportunities, experiences, and standards of living!