“As I think about what has opened these opportunities, I can honestly trace it back to those people in my life such as my mother and committed teachers who gave me the space explore my skills, my identity, and my confidence.”

“Despite doubts, I looked around and saw that I could play and actually compete pretty well. I had never been the best on any of the teams I played on, but my goal was to compete and contribute wherever I found myself.”

“Any life threatening battle is hard. It’s even harder if your enemy is you. It’s harder still if you aren’t given the tools to fight it and are forced to fight it in the dark without the understanding of a community.”

“I was a French-speaking African-American who was the son of immigrants from a country that no one had heard of. It was hard to relate to other teenagers in West Tennessee. Looking back on it, my identity became helping other people discover theirs.”

“I’m thankful to have been raised across the range of communities in Jackson from the farms to the inner city. I think there is a song in every conversation; we just have to listen.”

“I’m as normal as normal gets. I guess the only thing that is different about me is that I was willing to start something new and fall a lot, quite literally, until I didn’t anymore.”