The thing that has inspired me to keep pushing until I reach success is the loss of my father. In January of 2020, my father unexpectedly passed away while traveling back from Florida to South Carolina. I had just turned16 years old at the time and was in my Sophomore year of school. That situation was the hardest thing that I've ever dealt with in my life. Going through that experience made me realize that life can be gone in an instant and to cherish every moment and everyone that's in my life. That situation also put me in a place in life where I wanted to give up. I was an A/B Honor Student and also a student-athlete participating in football. During that time, I felt like my whole world shattered and there was no reason to pick up the pieces because my father was no longer there to help me put myself back together. My passion for football wasn't there for me anymore at the time. It reminded me of my father. My grades slipped a little to mid-B's because I couldn't get completely focused on my school work. Right after my father's death, Covid-19 hit the world so that made things more complicated with my situation. One day I realized that I couldn't let that situation cause my world to stop. Even though my father was gone, I still had my life to live. I had to get back focus. My father was the type of person that never gave up and he expected the same from me and my siblings. With the push of my family, friends, teachers, coaches, and teammates, I was able to overcome the depression of losing my father. I refocused on my studies and brought my grades from B's to high-A's. I also refocused my outlook on football. Even though it's the sport that I shared a special bond with my father, it's the sport I loved the most. I was able to improve my stats on the football field as well. Losing my father inspired me to become the greatest I can be for him. Although he's no longer with me physically I know he sees the successful path I'm starting to pave for my life.

In January of 2020, my father unexpectedly passed away while traveling back from Florida to South Carolina. I had just turned16 years old at the time and was in my Sophomore year of school. That situation was the hardest thing that I've ever dealt with in my life. Going through that experience made me realize that life can be gone in an instant and to cherish every moment and everyone that's in my life. That situation also put me in a place in life where I wanted to give up. I was an A/B Honor Student and also a student-athlete participating in football. During that time, I felt like my whole world shattered and there was no reason to pick up the pieces because my father was no longer there to help me put myself back together. My passion for football wasn't there for me anymore at the time. It reminded me too much of my father. My grades slipped a little to mid-B's because I couldn't get completely focused on my school work. Right after my father's death, Covid-19 hit the world so that made things more complicated with my situation. One day I realized that I couldn't let that situation cause my world to stop. Even though my father was gone, I still had my life to live. My father would have wanted me to be the best player on the field. I had to do it for him. I had to get back focus. With the push of my family, friends, teachers, coaches, and teammates, I was able to overcome the depression of losing my father. I refocused on my studies and brought my grades from B's to high-A's. I also refocused my outlook on football. I've been playing sports since I was 4 years old. Every step of the way, my father was there to support me until the day he left this earth. Even though football is the sport I shared a special bond with my father, it's the sport I loved the most. I was able to improve my stats on the football field as well and it helped me achieve Offensive Player of the Year the following year. I know that my father is looking down proud of the accomplishments I have achieved thus far. I will continue to make him proud on and off the field.

The main thing that fuels my life is my mother. In January of 2020, my father unexpectedly passed away while traveling back home from Florida to South Carolina. I had just turned16 years old at the time and was in my Sophomore year in high school. That situation was the hardest thing that I have ever dealt with in my life. I felt like my whole world shattered and went into a depression. Losing my father also made my mother instantly become a single mother and made me see her in a new light. Seeing her lose my father while still having to remain strong for me and my siblings made me appreciate her and the life she's provided for us even more. I am grateful for the many sacrifices she makes daily to make sure I have everything I need and most of what I want. There's nothing that would ever make me lose the love and appreciation for my mother. My mother is a simple person and is not hard to please. So when I do things for her and see her smile, it makes me feel honored to be her son. The fuel and passion I have for life that I live with every day are because of my mother and the hard work and dedication she's demonstrated raising us during and after my father passed. The fuel I have within me for life's success is because of her. She deserves to see me succeed and I'm determined not to let her down.

In January of 2020, my father unexpectedly passed away while traveling back from Florida to South Carolina. I had just turned16 years old at the time and was in my Sophomore year of school. That situation was the hardest thing that I've ever dealt with in my life. Going through that experience made me realize that life can be gone in an instant and to cherish every moment and everyone that's in my life. That situation also put me in a place in life where I wanted to give up. I was an A/B Honor Student and also a student-athlete participating in football. During that time, I felt like my whole world shattered and there was no reason to pick up the pieces because my father was no longer there to help me put myself back together. My passion for football wasn't there for me anymore at the time. It reminded me of my father. My grades slipped a little to mid-B's because I couldn't get completely focused on my school work. Right after my father's death, Covid-19 hit the world so that made things more complicated with my situation. One day I realized that I couldn't let that situation cause my world to stop. Even though my father was gone, I still had my life to live. I had to get back focus. With the push of my family, friends, teachers, coaches and teammates, I was able to overcome the depression of losing my father. I refocused on my studies and brought my grades from B's to high-A's. I also refocused my outlook on football. Even though it's the sport that I shared a special bond with my father, it's the sport I loved the most. I was able to improve my stats on the football field as well.

In January of 2020, my father unexpectedly passed away while traveling back home on Amtrak from Florida to South Carolina. I had just turned16 years old at the time and was in my Sophomore year in high school. That situation was the hardest thing that I have ever dealt with in my life. Going through that experience made me realize that life can be gone in an instant and to cherish every moment and everyone that's in my life. That situation also made my mother instantly become a single mother and made me see her in a new light. Seeing her lose my father while still having to remain strong for me and my siblings made me appreciate her and the life she's provided for us even more. I am grateful for the many sacrifices she makes daily to make sure I have everything I need and most of what I want. There's nothing that would ever make me lose the love and appreciation for my mother. I show her my appreciation by helping her out with my siblings and housework. Although I work, she never asks me for money and wouldn't take any from me. Because of that, I try to do things with my siblings and work around the house to show her my appreciation. My mother is a simple person and is not hard to please. So when I do things for her and see her smile, it makes me feel appreciated to be her son. The gratitude and appreciation of life that I live with every day are because of my mother and the hard work and dedication she's demonstrated raising us during and after my father passed.

The movement of social justice these last few years has impacted our community positively by bringing much-needed awareness of the topic to the community. I was born and raised in Charleston, SC. Since its establishment, Charleston has always been known as an area deeply rooted in racism and injustice towards blacks as it was one of the first cities used as its main ports for the imports of slaves. From the start of slavery up until now, people of black and brown descent have never been treated equally to people of European decedents in the Charleston area. There has always been a struggle with providing equality and justice to all. Often if a person of color is charged with the same crime as a white person, their sentencing time is 5 times the amount of the person who's not black/brown. One movement of the past few years has been making people aware of the deep and ugly past of Charleston and bringing awareness of how it's affecting today's society was the March across the Ravenel Bridge. During this march, hundreds of people from all races and ages gathered in June 2020 with Stand as One to protest racism and injustices against minorities. This march brought awareness of the unfair sentencing given to a person of color. It also brought awareness of how the police officers in Charleston are interacts and reacts with a person of color vs with a white person. Bringing awareness with this march assisted the City of Charleston with the revamping of their police department and how they handle certain situations. It is not 100 percent yet but it is improving from where it was a few years ago. The social justice movement also brought awareness to the communities about the differences in resources that are provided to the different areas based on race. Before the social justice movement, resources for the black communities where I grew up were hard to access. When the local park where I played youth sports would ask for different resources, it was told to us that it wasn't available so we had to get the second-hand equipment. Parents and other community leaders started noticing that the parks and recreational centers located in the majority-white area were receiving brand new items for their park and kids, but the black community wasn't. Some of the equipment that they were giving the black community was out of regulations and black kids would get hurt more often. People began to ask questions and demand answers as to why wasn't the black kids receiving the same treatment. Once more organizations started getting involved and demanding social justice for the children of the black communities to receive the same treatment and resources as the white communities, the City of Charleston Recreational Department had to reform their practices of giving a brand new to the white community and hand me downs to the black communities. They quickly ended that practice. Every park/rec department under the City of Charleston now receives the same resources and no longer has to worry about receiving second-hand equipment. If it wasn't for the social justice movement against the City of Charleston Recreational Department, the black community would still receive second-hand equipment. This move not only protects the safety of our kids but ensures that we are treated equally by the City of Charleston. We still have ways to go but with each Social Justice movement, Charleston, SC is improving daily.