When I first thought to write a blog, all I could think of was doing something that would benefit our future generations. I thought to write something that one day my sons and daughters could benefit from.  And thus The Content of Character was birthed, inspired by the teachings of the likes of Martin Luther King, Jr and others who have been instrumental in my life.  A journey through my thoughts and ideas of what young men and women should aspire towards to achieve their greatest potential and dwell in an incessant spirit of excellence.  Character is what I believe defines who we are as people, as citizens on this earth.  Our life experiences are tools that help to shape our character.  What I find most interesting however is how the same experience can have varying effects on different people.  It is proof that the experience itself is not the end-all deciding point, but it is rather the choices we make as a result of those experience determines our character.  I am living proof of this myself.

Let me give you a little background.  For a period of my young life, I lived in some of the poorest and most war-stricken countries.  Growing up in central and western Africa taught me a lot of things.  The lesson I learned that meant the most was to humble myself.  Regardless of the circumstances I am in, I can always think back to those who were in far worse situations. While living in the Democratic Republic of Congo, I remember some family members pulling me and my sister out of school after rumors of an imminent civil war had spread throughout the country.  The rumor spread quickly.  What was initially a quiet exit off of the school grounds turned into a massive evacuation as the rumors were confirmed by the sounds of gun fire in the streets.  Once we pulled onto the main road, we were met by crowds of people running in the opposite direction. The 15-minute drive to our house seemed like a lifetime as we drew closer and closer to the sound of the shots being fired.  I vividly remember the driver making a sharp turn onto our local street just as we could see the rebel forces approaching at a distance.  I was 9 years old at the time. As the saying goes, “Life comes at you fast”.

I share this story because I know we all have had life circumstances that have altered the way we think, act, and live.  Going through my experience opened my eyes to the world’s imperfections. In this day and age, we’ve become so accustomed to experiences unlike any other in most of our lifetimes.  In 2016 alone, our eyes have witnessed social injustices at home and overseas.  War, inequality, financial crisis, mass shootings have all become today’s norms.  Social media has given us access to these cruelties within minutes of them happening, and as such we are constantly bombarded with news about bomb threats, suicide killings, random public shootings, and increasing police violence.  It’s natural to be affected by this.  It would be inhumane to not feel upset, saddened or even angered by what we see in the world.   So feel free to be upset, be saddened, be angered, because as a result of this, I believe this is the first step to addressing the problem.  I believe that God’s answer to every problem is a birth.  You were brought into this world to be the solution to a problem.  Because of you, children will grow up with positive mentors.  Because of you, brothers will truly be their brother’s keeper.  Because of you, lives will be saved. Because of you, history will not repeat itself.

Life circumstances provide us with choices. Our success and survival depends on our ability to make wise choices.  My hope is that regardless of how outraged we may be, we always make the choice to do what’s right for our families, for our communities and for ourselves.  I understand that me telling you to make wise decisions is subjective and quite frankly unfair for me to make an assumption of what exactly constitutes a wise decision.  Once I moved back to the US as a young teenager, after witnessing so many atrocities overseas, I decided to make it my goal to help developing nations through whatever means possible.  I protested, I met with congressmen, I organized fundraisers in school.  Even until this day, my goals in life and career mission have always been to work in international development.  It may have started with just partnering with organizations or mentoring children, now it has evolved to lifelong pursuit of knowledge and service.  I found what works for me.  I found my purpose, the problem God wants me to solve.  Find the problem that you are meant to solve. Find what works for you. Discovering why you were born is one of the most significant moments of your life.  When you get to this point in your life and you start living out your purpose, it becomes your responsibility to then teach others to do the same.  Make disciples of them that they may understand that we are not to be judged by the color of our skin, gender or any other socio-economic factor but by the content of our character.