In kindergarten, I was a pretty shy and quiet child. After a short time, life brightened for me when I was in the elementary school. As it turned out, I enjoyed learning and was a wonderful student. Unfortunately, in the urban neighbourhood where I l

For years, I ignored this, but as I moved into pre adolescence, I became more aware of how my peers viewed me and felt more and more embarrassed about standing out as a stellar student.

In one particularly memorable experience, I left the stage of a successful debate speech feeling humiliated because I noticed several of my peers making fun of me in the audience during my delivery. This was a turning point. Because of an intense desi

In high school, I started to think about my future and felt that I had a responsibility to begin living my life in a way that reflected who I really was. This started to motivate me more than other people’s acceptance. Small decision by small decision