Editorial: If you don’t believe in yourself, then no one else will either

No matter what you do in life, there is one thing that will always for certain; if you do not believe in yourself, then no one else will either.

I can speak from this from a personal standpoint. When I was growing up as a young person in Charles City County, I had no confidence or belief that I would be anything in life. I had one obstacle after another. I did not believe in myself and believed what others were saying. I wondered why people were being so mean to me and why I didn’t have more confidence in myself.

Then one day, the light came on and I realized what actions needed to be taken. I have always been a person that sticks to what I like to do and not follow a crowd or trends. The one thing that I did change was my approach was having more confidence and how I went about everyday life. This was step one in looking inside myself and knowing my gifts and abilities that I had.

I took lessons from the ones who raised me and took that with a grain of salt. Parenting is hard and it requires tough love. However, I had to thank those who prepared for me being the man that I am today.

I want to give my mother and father credit here as well. My mother always told me I could be anything that I wanted to be, providing me the tools needed to need and understand no matter the circumstances. I had that ability, she fought for me when I was a child, even when others turned their backs on me and said I was nothing but a lost Black child.

I give my father credit and also my grandfather his due because they taught me how to be a man. I emphasize this because having a man around to teach a young man skills is critical in development of that individual. I learned life skills and the ethics of working to take care of my business.

I have to shout out the best grandmother in the world who is just an awesome woman. Nothing else needs to be said. Thank you to the people who looked after me coming up. There are too many to name, but you know who you are and I thank you so much.

Let this be a lesson for all; even if you do not believe in yourself, there are those out there who will and those who will not. It is up to you to sink or swim. I thank my lucky stars that I decided to swim.