I would like to share the lyrics to a
song that I wrote a few years ago it is
a song that I would have loved to sing
to this young man if I had the
opportunity if I could take a little
trip back in time talk to myself when I
was about 8 or 9 my daddy is long gone
replaced by a man who does not care the
emotional baggage is full much more than
any child should there I would tell
myself it will be all all right I know
that you are hurting and the pain it
runs deep you are in the dark and you
cannot see all I ask is that you put
your trust in me and in these words
please believe I promise it will be all
alright
statistically speaking there are many
reasons why I am not supposed to be on
this stage today
that said there are many more reasons
that the stats do not account for that
on this stage in front of you today and
this moment is exactly where I should be
when I was about 12 years old my mother
made a decision that I should move and
live with my grandmother my mother and
my father were married for about a year
before divorcing marking the end of his
presence in my life my mother then
remarried a man who become my brother
and sisters father my stepfather and I
never really had a good relationship in
fact that relationship became so toxic
that it made my mother choose that it
was on my best interest to go and live
with my grandmother
it was while living with my grandmother
that I began writing I started to write
down my thoughts and feelings and some
people call them poems but for me
writing was just a release
of the pain and sadness the frustration
and confusion that I was feeling at the
time one day I took one of these
so-called poems to my aunt and asked her
to read she did and due to the
circumstances that surrounded my life at
the time what I was writing was decently
melancholy and my aunt curiously asked
where is this coming from me being
reluctant and like way too cool to talk
about feelings right I just said to my
aunt
oh you know that’s just me freaking them
words you know she was like I freaking
them words whatever that means I just
wanted you to know that you’re a good
writer and you should keep writing so I
did I became addicted to affirmation it
felt good at a time where feeling good
was rare so I continued to write knowing
that the more I wrote the more of that
good feeling I would receive years later
now I’m an adult and I decided to start
this community service project that
would later become to nurture the
creative mind organization the aim of
this community service project to help
young people see their value giving them
the gift that I received so many years
ago it started to all make sense why I
had the experiences that I did and went
through the things I did when I was
younger I understood what it was like to
want to be seen and to feel valued I
also understood what it was like to not
be at all but then I understood what it
was like to finally be seen and feel
valued so how am I going to get these
young people to believe in themselves I
thought of a few things but I landed on
what I knew we was going to freak them
words
I was going to use poetry as a way of
connecting to young people helping them
see themselves and the value and others
each week I worked with about 20 young
people teaching them poetry studying
poetry but in our own way we use song
lyrics that the students chose we went
over metaphors and dissected analogies
and all the other academic tools that
form a poem each week their assignment
was to write one poem just one and each
week there were multiple students
running up to me and approaching me in
the hallways in between classes
hey mr. Jackson check it out check it
out I wrote this poem last night
hey mr. Jackson look I wrote three poems
oh yeah let me check those out okay cool
yo this is dope I like that the way you
use like soccer as a metaphor for life
that’s smooth you’re a good writer you
should keep writing it was at this
moment I started to understand that my
story was not unique that there were so
many young people screaming to be seen I
also understood that this community
service project was much more than a
community service project that I had
found my life’s purpose helping young
people see their value earlier I said
that on this stage is where I belong I
believe that to be true what I did not
tell you is that when I was asked to be
a presenter there were two distinct
emotions that I felt fear and doubt I
feared that I wouldn’t do well or well
enough and I doubted whether or not I
was even worthy but someone planted a
seed of belief many many years ago and
that seed grew and that belief became
our courage and regardless of how strong
the
winds of fear and doubt maybe I am
rooted in my belief if you want to do
something meaningful something impactful
something that doesn’t cost you any
money but has an infinite ripple effect
then go and give someone the gift of
belief thank you
[Applause]
[Music]
song that I wrote a few years ago it is
a song that I would have loved to sing
to this young man if I had the
opportunity if I could take a little
trip back in time talk to myself when I
was about 8 or 9 my daddy is long gone
replaced by a man who does not care the
emotional baggage is full much more than
any child should there I would tell
myself it will be all all right I know
that you are hurting and the pain it
runs deep you are in the dark and you
cannot see all I ask is that you put
your trust in me and in these words
please believe I promise it will be all
alright
statistically speaking there are many
reasons why I am not supposed to be on
this stage today
that said there are many more reasons
that the stats do not account for that
on this stage in front of you today and
this moment is exactly where I should be
when I was about 12 years old my mother
made a decision that I should move and
live with my grandmother my mother and
my father were married for about a year
before divorcing marking the end of his
presence in my life my mother then
remarried a man who become my brother
and sisters father my stepfather and I
never really had a good relationship in
fact that relationship became so toxic
that it made my mother choose that it
was on my best interest to go and live
with my grandmother
it was while living with my grandmother
that I began writing I started to write
down my thoughts and feelings and some
people call them poems but for me
writing was just a release
of the pain and sadness the frustration
and confusion that I was feeling at the
time one day I took one of these
so-called poems to my aunt and asked her
to read she did and due to the
circumstances that surrounded my life at
the time what I was writing was decently
melancholy and my aunt curiously asked
where is this coming from me being
reluctant and like way too cool to talk
about feelings right I just said to my
aunt
oh you know that’s just me freaking them
words you know she was like I freaking
them words whatever that means I just
wanted you to know that you’re a good
writer and you should keep writing so I
did I became addicted to affirmation it
felt good at a time where feeling good
was rare so I continued to write knowing
that the more I wrote the more of that
good feeling I would receive years later
now I’m an adult and I decided to start
this community service project that
would later become to nurture the
creative mind organization the aim of
this community service project to help
young people see their value giving them
the gift that I received so many years
ago it started to all make sense why I
had the experiences that I did and went
through the things I did when I was
younger I understood what it was like to
want to be seen and to feel valued I
also understood what it was like to not
be at all but then I understood what it
was like to finally be seen and feel
valued so how am I going to get these
young people to believe in themselves I
thought of a few things but I landed on
what I knew we was going to freak them
words
I was going to use poetry as a way of
connecting to young people helping them
see themselves and the value and others
each week I worked with about 20 young
people teaching them poetry studying
poetry but in our own way we use song
lyrics that the students chose we went
over metaphors and dissected analogies
and all the other academic tools that
form a poem each week their assignment
was to write one poem just one and each
week there were multiple students
running up to me and approaching me in
the hallways in between classes
hey mr. Jackson check it out check it
out I wrote this poem last night
hey mr. Jackson look I wrote three poems
oh yeah let me check those out okay cool
yo this is dope I like that the way you
use like soccer as a metaphor for life
that’s smooth you’re a good writer you
should keep writing it was at this
moment I started to understand that my
story was not unique that there were so
many young people screaming to be seen I
also understood that this community
service project was much more than a
community service project that I had
found my life’s purpose helping young
people see their value earlier I said
that on this stage is where I belong I
believe that to be true what I did not
tell you is that when I was asked to be
a presenter there were two distinct
emotions that I felt fear and doubt I
feared that I wouldn’t do well or well
enough and I doubted whether or not I
was even worthy but someone planted a
seed of belief many many years ago and
that seed grew and that belief became
our courage and regardless of how strong
the
winds of fear and doubt maybe I am
rooted in my belief if you want to do
something meaningful something impactful
something that doesn’t cost you any
money but has an infinite ripple effect
then go and give someone the gift of
belief thank you
[Applause]
[Music]
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