Today, I write not to motivate or inspire, but to explore. Explore oneself and truly understand why you’re on this earth. Sometimes, I sit here and think to myself, “Why do I do everything I do?” Is this truly going to make a difference in the long run? To fully understand why I think this way, let’s take a dive into my past. When I was growing up, I had everything I ever wanted. I had a great house, great friends and a loving family. Here I am, a normal, happy kid living a normal, happy life. If there was one phrase that described my childhood it was “Daddy’s boy”. Everything I did, was done to make my father happy. Whether it was playing sports, being a good son to my mom, or in the classroom, I did it to hear the words that every human craves like water. I’M PROUD OF YOU. But, just like every other story you’ve ever heard, everything changes. My dad became an alcoholic. He plunged so deep into his drinking that I really couldn’t connect with him on any level, nevertheless the perfect relationship I had with him. After a couple years of my father neglecting us, my mom had taken enough. They got divorced and my sister, mother, and I moved in with my grandparents down the street. As you can imagine, this was a really tough time for me. These were the years that would shape my future habits. Shape my future in general. I started to lose interest in my school work, family, and even my life long dreams. No longer did I dream of playing baseball in the MLB, no longer did I care about getting straight A’s, all I cared about was how long I was going to get to play my Xbox online with my friends after school. And guess what. NO ONE ELSE CARED. I no longer had my role model in my Dad to tell me to do my homework or to tell me to just strive for greatness. My mom tried so hard to keep us going that the extra things, the things that I now know are going to define my success, just had to be done by myself. And the sad part about it, it wasn’t getting done. My bad habits began to spiral out of control and my first semester of my freshman year I obtained a 2.3 GPA. Middle of the road. No better, no worse. And the worst thing about it, is that I accepted it. It wasn’t until the end of my sophomore year, that things turned for the better. I still remember sitting down, talking to my friends, and pondering over whether or not I should run for class President. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do, so I went for it. Then something happened, something that I wouldn’t realize until later, would change my life forever. I won. That summer, I attended the Arizona Association of Student Councils Summer Camp. There, in that forest in Prescott, Arizona, my life took a U-Turn. For five days, I listened to the teen leaders of Arizona talk about their problems and obstacles in their lives. Suddenly, my daddy issues meant nothing. Some of these kids, Student Body Presidents of their respective schools, had gone through unimaginable things, and somehow were still able to SUCCEED. To blow away all expectations! TO CHANGE MY LIFE AND TO CHANGE THE WORLD. As soon as I left, I knew exactly why I was put on this earth. I’m here to help others. I am meant to be a motivational speaker. My dream isn’t to be a baseball player anymore, but to be the role model who changes that ONE kids life for the better. To make that ONE kid understand that he or she can be anything they want. That this world is their playground! I just want to give people the thing that almost led my life down the path of mediocrity, a person to care and motivate them. A ROLE MODEL.

PS: This story was not to seek pity. It was to show how doing something you love, and finding your purpose, is truly an amazing feeling.

Someday, This will be a story of success. But until then, I have to keep bettering myself everyday.

Sincerely,

Joey Palomarez.