narrative

Yusuf Hussein

Professor Koss

Writing Intro Comp

September 13, 2021

Growing up at the age of 17, I've always thought there are no such things as heroes in today's society. If a hero truly existed, we wouldn't have to be suffering from racism, poverty, discrimination throughout history. We would be living in a utopian society where everyone is happy. Because of that, as a child, I never had anyone I looked up to in life. But recently, I came across this unique individual who has changed and shaped my perspective of life. Let me introduce you guys to Chadwick Boseman. Chadwick Boseman was born on November 29, 1976, who soon later passed away on August 28, 2020. He played the iconic character T'Challa / Black Panther in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. When I say iconic, this man had shined a light in the African American community and the rest of the world. But that's beside the point. Let me tell you how he impacted me, Yusuf Hussein. There was a time in my life where I was at my lowest and was facing mental depression. This depression wasn't ur average depression; I came to see myself losing hope in life. I sought medical attention, but the doctors couldn't find what was wrong with me.

I had so much going on at the time, for instance, my grandmother, that I never got to see passed away in Africa. That leaves me now with one grandmother from my mother's side. On top of that, school, work, and social life was all going through my mind. A thing about me was that I have seen myself making everyone else feeling a priority but expect myself. This made me lose control because I had this significant burden on my shoulders to help others.

That made me overlook all my dreams and what I want to fulfill in my life. Our purpose and dreams are the things that keep us, humans, sanity in check.

One day I was surfing the web for inspirational videos. I came to find myself watching Chadwick's Harvard graduation speech. I can say by far this video has touched my soul in a very unbelievable way. One thing I couldn't forget is that he said, "you should rather find purpose than a job or a career. Purpose crosses disciplines. Purpose is an essential element of you. It is the reason you are on the planet at this particular time in history. (Chadwick)" At that moment, a light bulb sparked in my brain. I only get one shot at life, so I told myself, why not do something you love, even if you die trying. From then on, I've decided my purpose is to help my beloved Kenya by rebuilding it from the ground up. To-Do so, I'll need to pursue business in college to understand how the economy works back home. From there, I'll take my knowledge back to Africa to show people how to better run their businesses. Luckily I was fortunate enough to live a very sustainable lifestyle. So I want to return the favor, which leads me to the next thing Chadwick says. "Everything that you fought for was not for yourself, it was for those who came after you. (Chadwick)" I shed a tear as I heard this statement coming from a refugee background. This quote symbolizes my parents; if it weren't for them, I wouldn't be here today.

My family and I immigrated to the United States in august 2004. At that time, I was three years old, with parents who had no education that wanted their kids to live a pleasant life. Which meant they would have to sacrifice everything they once had, from it being their family, friends, and hometown. In the long run, it gave me the drive I needed to acquire an education that my parents didn't have. And to act as a noble leader for future generations in my community. I've always had this vision of leaving a legacy once I'm gone. I want people to remember me for all the good personality traits I brought into this world, just like Chadwick. So after the video was over, I came to a sense of reassurance that surprisingly made my depression despair. I begin to value myself, along with knowing what I am capable of doing. Looking back now, I have seen how naive I was. Heroes do exist; they are just saving people in their own unique ways.

Reference: Video Time

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVNAj5Hp34U -2:05 (You should.. history)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVNAj5Hp34U -4:15 (Everything.. After you)