Harvesting Our Future

We’ve had a lot of accomplishments in the recent years. We’ve now observed the first African-American to become President of the United States of America. We’ve seen the induction of the first Hispanic Supreme Court Justice. We’ve even been blessed with a vaccination for the H1N1 virus. This nation has made great progress. One must take into consideration what has brought about such accomplishments. I simply say education is what has brought this about. Without educations advancements, none of this would have come to be, at least as soon as it has. According to the National Institution for Educational Statistics, enrollment in degree-granting institutions has increased by 14 percent between 1987 and 1997. Since I assume that this is the cause for our prosperity, I feel an obligation to be a part of its acceleration.
A great deal of our nation’s movers and shakers owe their success to their degrees, certifications, and other educational experiences. I am constantly promoting furthering one education. I believe the biggest move we can make towards this initiative progress can be referenced to in this age old adage: Get ‘em while they are young. This isn’t such a bad idea. At a young age, our future doesn’t quite know what they want out of life. They are pieces of clay waiting to be molded into what hopefully becomes a work of art. We need to guide them as soon as we can. I’m doing my part. I’m a member of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Inc. It’s an organization that already contributes vast multitudes of funding toward charitable organizations for advancement. It’s a part of our national mandate to give children the praise, uplift, and ability to strut their stuff. This is the high level view. When you put us hard working ants under the magnifying glass, you can see individuals like myself going to Saint Martin De Porres High School and participating in Fraternity and Sorority night presented by The Jewels and Gents program. This is an event in which college Fraternities and Sororities come and encourage the high-schoolers into applying, attending, and graduating from college. We give these adolescents time to talk to us about how college is, what is means to us, how it’s benefited us, and what they can do to make it easier on themselves. We, as in fraternity and sorority members, are in great positions to inspire them because of the growing consciousness of our organizations, especially in media references such as stump the yard. Naturally, we get a lot of questions about our step shows. One of my favorite poem’s is titled “I’d Rather See A Sermon” by Edgar A. Guest. It’s basically expresses the view of showing someone, better than you can tell them. I hold true to the message. At these events all the Greek fraternities do traditional steps in a small exhibition show. I always give it my all, out of respect for my personal representation, my fraternities, and in regards to how my showmanship can affect the world positively. The last time, there were no other members physically fit to do any of our routines. I show so much dedication that I did one of our longest all by myself. The kids were filled with joy and admiration. I quickly remind them that none of my participation in my fraternity’s endeavors would have ever come about had I not sought out higher learning.
I realized a long time ago that I’m only one man and sometime I attempt to move the world and end up breaking my back. I’ve come more knowledgeable these days that it only takes one grain of sand to move the world. This is why I’ve just been trying to start with small projects that touch home. I asked myself, “Why not AT home?” More recently, I’ve taken great interest in my little sisters aspirations. I try to keep her mindset for college. I’m always asking her what does she want to do with her life, how does she plan to do it, and what is her progress thus far. I can see that my mother and I have both been making a positive impact because she always has answers. It brings me great joy to know that. At that point, I don’t let up. I go a little further and tell her to influence her peers to do the same. There is enough preaching to the choir. I don’t need to push progress that’s already moving fast enough. I’d rather produce a well oiled machine out of a child that seemed halted in their tracks. I use her as a tool. A lot of times we can’t really receive advice from an older person for fear that they can’t relate to the hardships that we go through on a daily basis. In cases like this, we often look towards those that we see putting their best feet forward into the doorstep where opportunity knocks and welcoming them inside. My Ahjaleah Price is a soldier in my war against ignorance. She’s definitely got a Purple Heart award from me considering those plenty of times when she’s been wounded and ridiculed for her attempting to further and expose her intelligence. School children can be so cruel at times. I should know because I was teased in my earlier life for just the same reasons. Gladly, I can show that my persistence has and is paying off. I’m currently working for NASA. When I tell the youth that, they can’t help but be interested in the path that led me to it.
I do realize that a factor contributing to any variance showing a lack in college entry statistics is that some of these kids aren’t graduating; that’s where tutoring comes in. When I’m in Tuskegee, Alabama, after my classes about 2 to 3 times a week, my frat brothers and I go to St. Joesoph’s K-8 school and tutor the kids. We help them with their math, English, social science, and any other subject that they express a need for help in. It brings ear to ear smiles to us to see their faces light up when we come to see them. It makes us even happier when we see their grades getting better due to our involvement. As time goes by and their studying habits grow, they become increasingly self-sufficient but they still seek our pride in their work. They make it clear that they know what they are doing, but show us repeatedly so. If my honoring them promotes a better education I will forever hold them to a high standard and forever will see them exceed those standards. I can share the same sentiments. One of my biggest reasons for trying so hard to advance myself as well as my environment is because I want my mother to be proud of the fruits of her labor. I feel that if I don’t make it, I will have done no justice in proportion to the time, effort, energy, and not to mention money that she has invested in me. I look at her as my loan officer. I pay her back, plus interest with every accomplishment and step towards a secure future. Through my efforts of personal advancement, I hope that at least one young man or woman will learn from me and do the same.
At the end of the day, we all want those from the place that we came from. When I become more established and able to be more active at Crenshaw High (the high school I graduated from), I seek to achieve one ultimate goal. That goal is to attain a hundred percent graduation rate out of one class. When that happens, I will know that my fortitude has not gone unnoticed. I believe it will come and am counting the days, as well as working toward it because nothing good comes to those that wait for things to fix themselves in my eye. My life’s motto is this: Be Proactive, Not Reactive. It means rather than crying over spilled milk, I’d rather grab another jug. This is me grabbing another jug. Thank you.