Mold Me

Returning from Africa to begin a new childhood wasn't easy, I remember having to make new friends and having to take a liking into things I wasn't used to. Things were a lot different, my parents no longer together, a void that I hadn't experienced and just kind of adapting to life without a dad. My mom worked full-time and thinking back, I didn't really see her very much, which was hard for her because she didn't choose for things to be that way. Life was full of freedom for me at a very young age, but I was prepared for that, because I had the same freedom back in the village in Kabrousse. Remembering all of this makes me realize why I grew up so fast, why I am the person I am today. Without a dad to talk to and with a mom that struggled to understand me and be able to invest the time she would've liked, I was given up to God. I was an incredibly angry boy, I really was...very bitter towards both of my parents and just didn't want anybody to telling me how to do things. I was young, but I felt like both of my parents abandoned me and told me to just do it myself, figure it out Andrew. I had more freedom than any kid my age should ever have, and it's a blessing I wound up that man I am today. I remember I used to never want to be home, I always felt a much greater connection with my friends and their families, because I couldn't experience that at home, I didn't know what that was like. I used to walk around telling myself how great it was that I was mentally strong enough to be able to handle so much at such a young age, looking back, it's incredible the hand that was placed on me and how little I wavered towards darker things in life, because of that. I'm very thankful for God's ability to take care of the broken. Even going back and thinking about everything, I wouldn't change it. The things that are presented to us in difficult times, are what mold us right? It's what we decide to do with those moments that dictate which direction we want to go as people. My childhood makes me strive for that much more, it's what I look to when I'm working on myself. Do I want to be a great father someday? Yes. Do I want to be a husband who loves his wife wholeheartedly? Yes. Those are things I value immensely. I would never in a million years want for my family to have to go through the things that I did, raising myself in such a make shift way. But I never in a million years would trade those experiences, and that shouldn't sound weird..we should want to understand and be able to feel what hurt is, so that we can relate and be good examples for those people down the road who are struggling through the same battles. To this day it's a struggle in my relationships with my parents, but I understand that, I want to better those relationships. Healing takes time. And in that time I've realized all of this.

I think it's important for you to talk about things that have shaped your life for good or bad, talk about what you want to be as a person, how you want to impact something. I feel like people aren't sure how they will be greeted, if they decide to live differently. Share your thoughts, strive to be someone who is respected and somebody of great character and humility. We have no guarantee of our next heartbeat. I think that in itself is a reason to be somebody of significance. Seems to me like, right now is the only moment that matters. So right now is what I'm focusing on.

I want to leave impressions and be drawn into things that really matter.