What was your life like growing up? 

I want to take you on a journey with a kid who believes there is an opportunity for anyone who is willing to take it. I was quite meticulous as a child, and I still am. Although I analyze my surroundings very carefully, I usually take a nonchalant approach to most situations. However, an array of traumatic events at a rather young age challenged that mindset. I realized that there was something different about my life. I wasn’t sure what it was, but I knew everyone else around me wasn’t having the same experiences as I was.

When I was about three, I lived in an apartment in the Bronx with my mother, father, younger sister, and older brother. My older brother and I had the same mother but different fathers. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to spend a lot of time with my brother, as our lives were about to change drastically. It’s strange, because most people will tell you that it’s almost impossible to recall an event that took place when you were that young. However, I remember that day very clearly. I remember watching my mother cry inconsolably while she was trying to explain to me the best that she could, that my big brother went to heaven.

Things got worse. My father left when I was four years old. It was as though he vanished into thin air. He just left everything. I wouldn’t see my father again until I was 15. Since he bailed out on us, we couldn’t afford the rent. So, we moved from place to place, until we were finally placed in a housing project. It wasn’t a very good area; there was a lot of violence and drug dealing. For this reason, I was never allowed to hang around outside without my mother.