05/27/2026
Day 1 of my freshmen year of high school, I weighed about 100lbs.
At the open house, when I was allowed to pick my electives, I chose weightlifting and team sports. I was tired of being small and I wanted to follow in my brother’s footsteps. He was always jacked and athletic!
That first day at Lowndes high, my first block class was the weightlifting class. I walked in with my drawstring backpack and sat on one of the empty benches.
As I looked around the room, I felt incredibly out of place. I was a freshman that had somehow ended up in a weight lifting block full of seniors.
One of these guys was this tubby blond headed guy. Rosie cheeks. He was staring at me, directly across the room on an adjacent bench. He looked me dead in the eyes and mouthed the words “you do not belong here.” with a cold, fake grin on his face.
I was already the smallest person in the room, and now I had never felt smaller.
I stood up and walked into the coaches office where he was still sitting at his desk. I told him without explanation that there was a mistake and that I shouldn’t be in that class. He sent me to the counselors office and that was that.
I told my brother. The next day after school, he picked me up and took me to the Valdosta YMCA. For one of the first times in my life, he showed me a type of patience and understanding that I had never seen from him before. He didn’t pick on me like he normally did. He didn’t laugh at my story. He showed patience and gave me a solution.
Two instances from two people that directly influenced me. That tubby kid in the weight room in just one sentence convinced me that I didn’t belong in there.
And in one act of kindness my brother showed me that I belonged wherever I chose to.
Because of this, I pursued a career in athletics. I’ve competed, won, and lost in BJJ, MMA, and kickboxing. I own a gym. I get to train with and meet world class athletes. I compete against people that I used to watch on tv.
I am not the best. I face loss often.
But, these are things that I would have likely never have done if it wasn’t for the patience my brother showed me.
My brother showed me that no-one but myself can determine where I belong.