BrAiNpOwEr

Brainpower

What makes a person passionate about their goals? In a word: Sacrifice!

I was one of the homeless in America; I am exposing that with no intent of evoking pity for myself, because listening to my father, being homeless was another lesson to learn from, another chance to show who you are as a person. I am not sure if his words were meant to inspire me or if he felt that way no matter what happened.

Regardless, while being homeless, the nights were the worst. My father would not sleep much, feeling those were the times someone could catch him off guard. Then there was driving from spot to spot in the middle of the night, trying to avoid police harassment.

But I was never alone.

I would look at my father who had faced situations that were out of his control, but his belief in my mind was unwavering. Often, he would talk about the beauty of the world I was going to see, talking until I fell asleep, believing that the hardship was worth it, all because of my mind. No matter what he felt at the time, the words he spoke were meant to make me see the power of my brain, the magnitude of the greatness my ideas could one day bring to this world. Those were the periods of time that taught me look past the darkness of a moment.

The day my father brought me to college, I arrived homeless, climbing from the truck I had been living in. Even as I looked at my father – clothes so old holes formed at his armpits and around his stomach, worn tennis shoes that blinked their unintended openings – I saw a belief that lived long before that moment arrived. When he drove away and my journey at Johns Hopkins began, I remember why he said he believed in me.

“The limits of life can be challenged if you believe in the beauty of you as an individual, more times than not, people will shine when given the support needed to shine.”

I knew he would return to living where ever he could, knew that if I needed to hear his words, he would show up ready to give a message of encouragement. That thought alone gave me what I needed to graduate with the class of 2020 at the Johns Hopkins University. I'm grateful, not only for being able to care for my father and myself, that time gave me my story through the hardship of believing in something greater than the moment in which we lived.

As a poor minority, I have witnessed the lack of dreams in others, truly understanding why they are afraid to dream.

When a person tries to open their mind, what avenues do they have in that effort? What help can they get with their ability to comprehend what they have never been taught? Not knowing is one of the scariest things a person faces when they set about changing their lives. Ignorance does more to destroy a person than what the eyes can see; ignorance creates fear and stifles a person's ability to bring amazing to life.

Just as the air flows through our lungs, the terrors of life can feel overwhelming, and with that, feeling challenged to be relevant. And I have wanted to stay relevant.

Thanks to my schooling, my passion became 3D printing. 3D printing is incredibly versatile, with printers that fit tightly on a desk to those that can print homes. I want to hone the ability to create customized items and figures that can be used to create tabletop and roleplaying games and projects that show underrepresented peoples such as myself. With a community of individuals across popular platforms such as Facebook and Youtube, I found many who believe in the power of this medium. By infusing the words, a person can relate to our 3D prints and imaging with the projects designed. I wish to inspire a sense of greatness for people who seek to be bigger than the moment their lives might be in.

My small business can grow to partner with other entities, include more people to bring diversity and culture in a field that is predominated by one. The platform being something that involves and encourages individuals to interact and commune, showcasing creative ideas and stories from a multitude of backgrounds, and reflecting a positive take on the many cultures of our nation. Production and distribution of our projects and crafts could generate revenue, which in turn could be used to invest and grow the business, and even start our own programs, teaching our techniques to others who could create projects of their own. Whether gaming or something else entirely, the ideas that would not only be talked about, but brought to life, would be truly something to behold.

And to me, that is a passion worth having.