Today, I am wearing the color burgundy. Burgundy is often depicted as the color associated with being a warrior. Oh Yes! When my mentoring started to kick into high gear, I had to be strong in the midst of adversity. The year prior to my becoming a mentor, I lost my oldest brother in a car accident. It was definitely hard to take on such a huge and influential task of mentoring when catastrophe was still in my peripheral. Honestly, there were times when I wanted to give up, but I knew I made a commitment. I had to be a warrior for myself, but more importantly for my mentee, Darnell. My mother always tells me, “Be strong and do right, it may seem like no one is watching, but someone is.” Mothers always know what to say.
As time progressed and I started to find effective ways of becoming stronger to deal with life, I noticed that my mentee did also. Darnell and his brother, Devin, my brother Keith, and I all climbed Stone Mountain, GA not too long ago. Climbing that mountain is a metaphor itself. We needed physical strength (we pushed our bodies to the limit), we needed emotional strength (we encouraged each other), we needed mental strength (we set our minds to it and did not give up), and lastly, we needed spiritual strength (we listened to Mother Nature and appreciated what she offered—including 90 degree weather :-/). It was there that all four of us realized just how strong we really are.Darnell and I continue to be warriors each and every day. I am the man of my own house, and he is 11 months away from turning 18 and becoming a “MAN” himself. This year, we will continue to focus on staying a warrior.
“To be a warrior is not a simple matter of wishing to be one. It is rather an endless struggle that will go on to the very last moment of our lives. Nobody is born a warrior, in exactly the same way that nobody is born an average man. We make ourselves into one or the other.” –Carlos Castaneda
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