Road to Success

I've been travelling down this road for years. Literally years. It all started when I was 18. I had just graduated high school, and it felt great! But the whole summer I couldn't think about anything else but me wanting more. I wanted to be where I wanted to be, I know that doesn't really make sense right now, but try ya best to understand it.

I had gotten accepted to the University of Chicago, and being from Atlanta, I was excited. I had never been to Chicago, or a city remotely like it. I was anxious. The day before I left, I didnt get any sleep. I was out all night seeing my friends that were still home. We didn't do much, hung out at my friend, Darryl's house, watching movies, listening to music, we even cooked that night. We had some female company over so we decided to cook for em. I must've walked in the house at about 5a.m. to a cherry red faced woman who I call my mom. She was highly upset. "Sean where the hell have you been? You must think you grown or something.." I didn't respond because I knew those had to be rhetorical questions, and if they weren't then there couldn't have been any answer that I could give that would calm her down, so I just walked into my room and sat on the bed. The funny thing is, I wasn't even tired. My flight was in 2 hours, but I wasn't worried, because everything that I was taking with me was already packed, I had my clothes for the flight laid out on the other end of my bed, ironed and everything. So now all I had to do was pack the car, take a shower, charge my phone a little, and head to the airport.

We got to the airport around 6:15a.m., checked my bags, got through security and was in the boarding area by 6:32a.m. I boarded the flight to Chicago at 6:44a.m., and landed in Chi-City, as Chicago natives would call it, at 9:21a.m. Chicago time. The city was beautiful! I had never seen anything like it, so many tall buildings and people just walking around. Cars everywhere. It was amazing.

My first year was fun, I met a bunch of cool people, and the classes weren't as hard as I thought they'd be. I met Yazmin that year, she was my girlfriend, and still is to be honest. We had got real close real fast, she was just like me, the female version of me. She was gorgeous, spontaneous, ambitious, and just all around perfect, for me atleast. I told her everything, we used to stay up all night, just talking. I'd tell her about my past, and about my real passion. I was in school on an academic scholarship double majoring in Pharmacy and Psychology. But my real passion was in photography. I loved my camera, she captured all the moments that I ever had, most of em I wouldn't have remembered without her.

My mom didn't think Photography was a real major so I had to study something more concrete to suit her. I used to tell Yazmin all the time how I really just wanted to take pictures. That's it that's all.

My next two years at the Univ of Chicago were ok. Nothing special. I mostly just focused on my schoolwork, but was a little unmotivated. You know how it is when you want to do something, but nothing that you're doing is to better what you really wanna do.. That's how it was for me. I mean, I liked Pharmacy and Psychology, they were cool, but it wasn't me. It wasn't what I wanted to do, and therefore it didn't interest me in ways that people thought it would or thought that it should.

After first semester Junior year, and a few long talks with Yazmin, it was clear to me that I was unhappy with myself. Mainly because I felt I was cheating myself out of life. I always hear that you should live everyday and every moment like it's ya last, and I wasn't doing that. I was living my life the way my mom and the rest of the family wanted me to. All they talked about my whole life was how I was gonna be this big psychologist, and I mean I love my fam to death, but I couldn't keep putting what I wanted and my dreams on the backburner for them. I know they only wanted what's best for me, but who are they to say what's best for me, you know?

I dropped outta college that year, and was pursuing photography full-time. Everybody said I wouldn't make it and that I'd be just like my father, whoever he was. It was rough at first, I must admit that. The road had a few curves and some forks in it, but I followed my heart and I got to where I wanted to go.

Now I'm 26, and I own my own magazine. 5 years after dropping out of college, and I'm the CEO of a million-dollar company, and I'm not even finished yet. I'm back in school, still double majoring in Pharmacy and Psychology. I'm in a better position now, to finish that of which I started, than I was 5 years ago. I'm more motivated now, mainly because I focused on me and did what I really wanted do. My next goal is to be a Psychologist, both adult and child, and after that, who knows. But I do know that I don't plan on turning off of this road anytime soon. I wanna do it all, and I will. This is my road, and I plan on owning it.