I want you to picture a unicorn what
does your unicorn look like why is it a
sought-after creature why is it we seek
these mythical creatures and beings
could the answer be that they’re because
they’re uniquely different and they
don’t fit in any box open your eyes
much like the unicorn living outside the
box it’s about finding your true
identity your passion and what makes you
happy I struggled with this for years as
I throughout my childhood I grew up in
the inner city of Los Angeles with my
eight siblings where I attended public
school to second grade I became bored
with the schoolwork and I was an
extraction in class instead of skipping
grades that suggested they came up with
a magical idea to bust me to a magnet
school where I was one of only three
blacks so as you could imagine after a
while I didn’t fit in in the
neighborhood and I didn’t fit in that
school it was a struggle to feel like I
belong with the kids in the neighborhood
because I didn’t behave like them
I didn’t sound like them and I didn’t
look like them my vernacular was
different my path was different I was
different but I couldn’t accept this
because of it I was teased to the point
of being bullied can you imagine someone
bullying me I wanted nothing more to fit
in to fit inside the box to be like the
kids in the neighborhood at school most
of the kids came from wealthy
backgrounds and felt a sense of
privilege not only was I teased because
of the neighborhood I came from but also
because the color of my skin I felt like
a charity case try being an inner-city
kid it was a lost cause for me for so
long
all I wanted to do was belong belonging
to something
belong where was the group at school or
the group in my neighborhood
I just wanted to belong I wanted to fit
in I wanted to be in that box a part of
fast forward to high school sorry yeah
fast forward to high school not only was
I a straight-a student I was a star
athlete but my path was much of the same
bus to a predominantly all-white high
school and left to hang out with the
inner-city kids after school I didn’t
fit the stereotypical profile of an
athlete but I didn’t fit the profile of
an inner-city kid if thugs gangbangers
and drugs again I was I was teased for
being too smart for using proper grammar
for growing up poor and for being black
but again all I wanted to do is I wanted
to feel like I wanted to feel accepted
and like I belonged struggling to fit in
I turned to my best friend my older
brother we had a long talk my sophomore
year and other that talk came an
epiphany he explained to me that I
didn’t fit in because in fact I was
different and I needed to embrace it he
advised me to do some soul-searching to
understand what made me happy and once I
knew it I could create my own box my
entire adult life lid has been about
living outside the box from a 10-year
NFL career to attaining my MBA to
becoming a snowboard coach yes
that’s no more coach funny story about
how I became a snowboard coach in 2005
my friends asked me if some of my
friends asked me to go on a snowboarding
trip my initial response was black
people in snow we don’t mix we’re
tropical people I decided to take him up
on the offer anyway I fell in love with
the sport from day one and wanted to
pass that passion on others probably
broke some of my contractual obligations
with the NFL with my decision as well
the Epiphany of just how different I was
and out of the box I was smacked me dead
in the face a couple of weeks ago I was
standing on top of the board across
course
a snowboard an event race and as I
looked around I realized I was the only
black coach or athlete there as I
continually received awkward stares it
dawned on me that I was in fact just
that different and living outside the
box but it was at that moment I realized
that my brother was what my brother was
telling me about being different
I had become a rose they learned to love
his storms the traditional path isn’t
for everyone
I believe traditional in the box before
being at a pass such as lectures
education through lectures
non-traditional 95s and so on and so
forth people are drawn to what is
uniquely different and on the cutting
edge you have to take your uniqueness
and be whom you are so that your light
shines on the world diversity of thought
and experience is what makes
revolutionary breakthroughs and
uniqueness when you look at people like
the Wright brothers Thomas Edison or
Albert Einstein they all have one thing
in common they didn’t fit in any box
they were comfortable in who they are
despite the negativity despite the
naysayers and doubters it’s a lot harder
in today’s society because we have
access to so much more and largely in
part due to the individuals I just
mentioned there are so many still in our
social media reality TV etc that it’s
easy to get caught up in trying to fit
inside a box one that might not even be
real as students we must realize that
social media is a highlight reel for
people’s lives whether it’s a sick
snowboard trick or someone doing
something amazing it’s all in highlight
all a highlight we don’t see the trials
and tribulations that they go through
and we see it we want it we want to be
in it we want to be a part of it a part
of the in-crowd which most of the times
is a fictitious society what you need to
understand is that a million likes will
never be enough if you don’t learn to
like yourself first
I encourage you to figure out who you
are what you like and what makes you
tick regardless of the box people who
try to put you in it’s not about fitting
in it’s about being authentic and
standing in your own truth so why is
living outside the box so important to
me
it’s where true happiness lies you have
to be true to yourself and the desires
of your heart even if your desires go
against the status quo and you’re looked
at as a unicorn I want you to close your
eyes again
now picture yourself what’s unique about
you what are you passionate about what
does your heart desire what makes you
want to live life to the fullest every
day I challenge you to be the first you
and not the second someone else thank
you [Applause]