I was born to an under aged girl out of wedlock, and adoped into a family that provided me with a safe place to stay, food and a measure of love. As I grew up I came to realize that many of the views of my family were not in line with my own, nor were they even close to being correct. I began to develop my own set of values and morals early, this set me as the black sheep of the family, even though there are many worse things that other members of the family did. They did not interfere with the thoughts and actions of the other family members however so they were viewed as permissable.
A difference of opinions in the area of racial relations, in other words my marriage to a hispanic girl, finally brought my family relationship to a complete end. My parents cut all ties with me and have never met their 4 grandchildren that my wife and I have. This is just a fact of life, but it doesn't have to be..... People can think for themselves and learn from the mistakes of others, they can resist the downward spiral of the culture. Just as I resisted the tendancy that exists in me to drugs and alcohol and avoided the fate of my brother which was an untimely death.
Nestled within all of us is the potential for greatness, but not all greatness is equal. Some people may become great when they avoid an adiction, others may become great when they break the circle of divorce in their family tree. Some may become great when they spend the time with their children that their parents did not spend with them. Others may become great by disco-vering the cure to a disease or by writing a great novel. Still others may be-come great by just being a good friend to someone in need of one.
The point is that no matter the level there is potential for greatness in all of us and it is our responsibility to mine out the potential and develop, refine, mold and pollish that potential into a reality. That is all of our jobs in our respective lives and that is what we should strive for every day. With that said I pledge to try to write thoughtful articales that will help you pollish your potential into something that you will be proud to display!
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