The Highs and Lows of a Young Black Man Journey: "My Story to Texas A&M University"

By Terrence Smith

As a native of Beaumont, Tx, Terrence "Weasel" Smith always knew there was a world outside the low-income apartments he grew up living in. Terrence displays the highs and lows of a journey that leads him to Texas A&M University, where he graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Sociology. With his drive and determination, he beats all odds throughout his life with many of his accomplishments. Even with a ton of accomplishments, Terrence is devastated when his dream of walking-on a Division-One college basketball team is taken from him. Through it all Terrence spreads a message that anything is possible, and displays his self-motivation, drive , and belief in his ablities that he hopes inspires people of all origins.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Oct 23, 2013
• ISBN: 9781491829066

Terrence Smith

He is a graduate of Texas A&M University and has a Bachelors' of Science Degree in Sociology. Being from a low-income environment in Beaumont, Tx, he as an individual has experienced the good and bad sides of life. He have a very unique perspective he writes from because he experienced both sides of life and has positioned himself to be the bridge that connects two different groups of people. He helps connect the well established individuals to the individuals in low-income environments to better understand each other. It was one of the reasons he wanted to be the first in his family to attend college and be the first in his environment to do something many people seen as impossible because of the pre-judging factor of life. He paint depictions of everything he has experienced that make you as a reader feel as if you experienced the journey first hand. People from all walks of life can identify with Terrence as an author and the personal struggles he goes through trying to attain his goals and dreams.

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2013 by Terrence Weasel Smith. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 10/17/2013

ISBN: 978-1-4918-2907-3 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4918-2906-6 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2013918234

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Contents

Dedication

1.   Introduction to My Reality

2.   Beginning of Childhood

3.   Elementary Years

4.   Life through Middle School

5.   High School Changes

6.   University Of Arkansas

7.   Texas A&M University

Dedication

I would like to dedicate this book to my mother Tracey Renee Thompson because without you none of the great things would be possible. Thank you for the many sacrifices that you made just so your kids can have the best and have opportunity in life. You are the world’s greatest woman in my eye sight. I also would like to dedicate this book to all the young men and women that have to grow up in low income neighborhoods surrounded by drugs, violence, and no hope. Always remember that no one can stop you in life at whatever you pursuing, but yourself. When you stop believing then you will stop achieving. A person can be the poorest person on the street but at the same time have the richest goals/dreams on the street, so whatever you do in your life, never doubt your abilities. Its start by not worrying about what we do not have in life and starting to appreciate the things we have and making the most of it with all your heart.

1

Introduction to My Reality

I always believed I had the biggest goals and dreams in my environment. Growing up, my environment consisted of low-income apartments known as Northridge Manor (also called Maida), and most referred to it as the ghetto,, even though it was a nice place to stay at the time. Most young black parents at this particular time looked at this place as a start, and had the mindset of eventually moving on during the life cycle to bigger and better.

In this environment, you really have no one to look up to or people who could lay the blueprint for a person to make it out of this setting and be successful in life. Even though this may sound like a harsh statement, it is no secret that most folks who stay in low income environments have little to no ambition to be better than they once were or even push themselves to achieve something on their own with no help. I have never encountered anyone from this environment that went to college, nor did I have anyone in my family go to college. So while I was growing up it was so hard to even imagine that I could be anybody in life because ninety-nine percent of people from my environment did not make it out and settled for less.

However, I knew I was different, even when no one around me, including family outside my household, believed in me or my goals. What was important to my success was the drive and determination that I possessed. There were times when I wanted to ask questions about my goals and even talk about them with friends and family, but I was too scared they would be shot down by doubt and disbelief of my abilities.

The problem with most parents and children growing up in low income areas is that most parents do not teach their kids to look within themselves for self motivation. This is the type of motivation you will need to be a success at whatever you want to do in life. One thing I can say about my mother is that she always let me choose what I wanted in life and supported any decision I ever made. This gave me confidence that the whole world can be against my goals, but as long as my mother was supporting me in a positive way, I was going to make believers out of everyone. Especially the people who did not expect me to graduate all honors in high school or even to graduate college from Texas A&M University. This might seem to the ordinary white rich family as normal, but it is unheard of for any-body that grew up in the setting I was brought up in. Being able to achieve these wonderful things was self-fulfilling. As I tell my story to the world, I hope everyone gain personal strength to persevere in life and trust their own instincts, not allowing anything or anyone to stop their journey to the finish line in life.

2

Beginning of Childhood

Since I was a young boy I always envisioned myself amongst most of the stars in the world that could have the greatest impact if given a chance in life. So let’s start off by asking ourselves what drives one to know that they are different from all others? That is a million dollar question that takes thought to answer. One has to answer this question with action rather than words.

Well, it all started when my mom was 19 years of age and was giving birth to her second child, Terrence Lynn Smith, on May 31, 1990. She was very young, but really made sure her kids had the best. Most of all, she made many sacrifices along the way just so we could have the best in