embrace positivity

I know Thanksgiving was a few weeks ago but this post is not only on the day of Thanksgiving. We all should be thankful each and everyday, not just on a certain day. I'm thankful for God who gave me breath in my lungs so I can glorify his kingdom and his name everyday. Everything that I do is for Him, from everyday life situations to the blessings that he placed in my life in regards of the Outcast. I want to put a smile on His face each and everyday. Every opportunity that God gives me life I always try to spread goodness everywhere I go. I try to spread goodness to everybody that I meet and see. There is so much violence in the world, there needs to be more positivity. There is no need to have negativity in this world. All of the nations should be united, not divided because at the end we will need each other. I pray for everybody, even my enemies and haters/naysayers because everybody needs to be loved in this world. So I thank God that I have the opportunity to spread goodness

Like I said earlier in my posts, Love Thy Neighbor. It takes a lot for a person to Love Thy Neighbor but being a man of God is ultimately important for me to follow this rule. I was in a situation with a girl a few weeks ago. What happened was I messaged this girl on Facebook and asked her if she wants to have some pizza and watch movies with me and my roommate. Keep in mind that I didn't want to be in romantically involved with her, I just wanted to be friends. Anyways, she was doing homework but I know how important it is to relax your mind. She could've just messaged me back and said thanks for the offer but I really need to finish this homework. I would've been satisfied with that but she didn't reply at all. She's my next day neighbor. The worst thing about this whole situation is that I heard her talking to her friend about me in regards of the message. I also heard her coming out of her apartment two times and within those times, she could've messaged me.

Being beautiful inward and outward doesn't only mean being beautiful on the outside. Some girls and guys have a beautiful exterior but their interior needs cleansing. In other words, people can be beautiful outside, their physical features can be great and on point  but they have a rotten and sour personality. I'm not saying all people are like this.   I also believe that people can change their ways. They can turn over a new leaf and become beautiful inward and outward. Also, being beautiful inward and outward is about having good self esteem and looking at yourself and others in a positive light. I was this type of individual but later on in life I gained some perspective in life and I turned a negative situation into a positive situation. Everybody should be and feel beautiful inward and outward. Sometimes I scroll down my Twitter feed and I see negative tweets and those aren't needed in life. Life shouldn't be filled with negative thoughts and all around negativity.

I went to an event tonight on campus that celebrated cultural diversity. We have a good amount of international students and tonight students from Saudi Arabia orchestrated this event. They did various dances that originated from Saudi Arabia. Somebody told me that every state in Saudi Arabia have their specific dances. I thought that was really cool!! We ate food from the country and it was so delicious!!! The food was different but still good. While people ate, they played a PowerPoint about Saudi Arabia. I'm glad that I came because I really enjoyed myself. I wish more people participated in this event because this was such a positive and energetic event. I'm definitely going to more events like this in the future.

Lately, I've been hearing rappers rap about being young Gods/Gods. I really don't know how to feel about this but I know the Bible says humble yourself. I know rappers want to be confident but the bottom line is to humble yourselves. I really like Hip Hop and Rap and various artists in those genres and they talk about being young Gods but after I hear their music I really think about this. I'm not saying all rappers and Hip Hop artists talk about this but this issue is picking my brain. God wants us to follow his will and do the work of his ministry on this earth, I completely understand this but I don't think God meant for making people feel like they are superior or on the same level as God. The first commandment says we shouldn't have any other Gods before Me ( God) so if rappers and Hip Hop artists are claiming that they are young Gods/Gods, they are lying to themselves. I'm not trying to start beef with any artists but this issue is truly making me think de

I was watching Derrick's Rose comeback documentary on the wealthy gorilla website and what I took out of the documentary is to never give up and to not let your insecurities hinder your happiness. Mr. Rose is not letting this injury deter him from accomplishing his goal which is to return to the NBA and win a championship for his team and especially for his city. If people don't know about his injury, he tore his acl  and he was out of play for one year. A lot of people say their done after an injury but not Mr. Rose, he is constantly working to get better. He came from humble beginnings and he just wanted to provide for his family. Playing basketball was his outlet from everything that he was encountering on a daily basis. Mr. Rose said " He would die on the court." By saying this, he is so loyal to his basketball career. I would say that me and Mr. Rose are on the same level regarding this situation. I don't want a basketball career but I can relate to Mr. Rose&

I follow Oprah Winfrey on Twitter and I saw these belief stories that she was telling her fans. I just loved these stories and I felt so inspired and I just had to write about them. I really like the first and third story. The first story is about her not knowing her father, she just knew that the pastor from her church was always talking about how God can be a father. What Ms. Winfrey said stood out to me because the Bible says God can be a father, mother and a widower to anybody. God can be your refuge at the most vulnerable time in your life. I found God in the most vulnerable time in my life and I'm so grateful and blessed for that. The third story really spoke to me because Ms. Winfrey said " my heart desire is to want to live and be in this body fully present to everything, to all beings and all things." I really like what she said because we have to be present in life in order to grasp these opportunities in this lifetime. We have to got out of our comfort zones. F

This past weekend I was watching a documentary entitled Hidden Colors and it's about how Europeans covered up most African American culture. Influential ladies and gentlemen were talking about the African American culture from the beginning. I learned a lot and it was so much information. It was so informative and a very well made documentary. As I was watching this documentary, I was thinking that everybody should embrace one's culture. A culture might not have the brightest past but the future is always evolving so the bottom line is to embrace one's culture. For example, the Jewish culture is associated with the Holocaust and obviously they are not proud of that but the future should be the focus, not the past. We can always look at the past as a reminder that we have came from along way from where we were but we shouldn't dwell on the past. We also shouldn't disrespect any culture because every culture has their own traditions different than yours. Culture can b

We are all  storytellers in one way or another. We all have something to tell the world but a lot of people don't have the resources or the correct outlets to expose their story to others. My generation, especially have a lot of stories to tell but it's so hard for our generation to express ourselves and tell our stories within our society. It's getting better but we still  along way to to go in order to share our stories. During my high school years, I wrote two articles about me having Joubert Syndrome. One was in a magazine article and the other was an article in a newspaper. I wrote these two articles because I wanted to inform people about Joubert Syndrome so they can understand the disorder a little bit. I turned a negative situation in a positive situation so I want you guys to do the same. Stories can keep unfolding as days begin and end so tell your story to someone, you never know who is interested. Share your story so you can help others along their journey.

I make mistakes, you make mistakes but  it's so important that we see our mistakes and correct them immediately. If you made mistake(s) toward a person(s), say sorry to them even if its intentional or attentional. I made a lot of mistakes in my life and I'm sure I'm going to make a lot of mistakes in the future. Whether those mistakes are forgiven or not, we must confess our mistakes so we can clear our consciousness, to become a better person inward and outward. Like I said in a previous post, my definition of being a true character is when somebody admits their mistakes regardless of what the outcome brings. The outcome could be hate or love but the bottom line is to clear your conscious to release those scars so you can continue to grow.  

Everybody has a past, some people's past might be grayer than others but it's so important that we don't judge. We don't wear all the same shoes so we don't know what people are going through. For example, when somebody enters someone's family for the first time, don't talk about them or judge him/her. Maybe she/he looks unkempt but that doesn't mean that you judge or be so critical of them. You don't know what that particular individual is going through or just went through. A perfect example of this is in the Pursuit of Happyness  when Will Smith's character was late to an interview wearing some old raggedy clothes that was covered in paint. Even though he explained himself, this is a good example of what I'm talking about. It's not the exact situation but its similar. It's not about where people came from, it's about where people are going. I'm not saying that where people came from isn't important because it is. Most p

I just loved their performance tonight, it was very incredible. I saw the duo's performance tonight at my school in one of the performing arts center. The back story of these two was that one of the guy's out of the duo,  Griffin Matthews went to Uganda to volunteer and he met some kids and he asked them what they wanted to do or learn. They told him that they wanted a education. After his visit to Uganda, he wanted to help out those kids so he threw some fundraising parties back in New York. He and his friends gave those kids the opportunity to go to universities, this is so amazing!! I was so inspired by their story. I actually wanted to cry but I was surrounded by my peers so I didn't want to embarrass myself. It's so great that they can tell their story through music and story telling, I can't say it enough, their performance was so tremendous. The duo, Matt Gould and Griffin Matthew's mission is to empower people, to change the world's dynamic from nega

I had an IEP throughout my school years. I had an IEP for math and also because I took longer than other students on assignments. I could have extra time on my assignments and tests so that was really good. I had to take remedial classes because I was a slower learner than everybody else in my class. At first, I was kind of confused, I was wondering why I had to go to a smaller classroom away from my classmates. I didn't want to admit that I was a slower learner than my other classmates. I just wanted to be on the same level.  Now my cousin has an IEP and is thinking negatively about it. The advice that I can give him and to anybody who else is going through the same or similar situation is that even though you might have an IEP or enrolled in remedial classes, don't let your insecurities hinder your happiness. In other words, don't let obstacles or fears in your life deter you from achieving your goals or ambitions. We can be anybody who we want to be. Don't let naysay

If I didn't have Joubert Syndrome, I don't think a lot would change. My head wouldn't shake obviously but I think I would still have the same personality. If people don't know me, I'm a shy, quiet and very closed person. What I mean by that is I keep to myself.  I kept to myself before I made my film. I'm trying to open up, have conversations with people. Its getting easier and easier everyday. Anyways, I'm going to be me other than the fact that my head won't shake. This is the only difference. I've been through a lot and true character really speaks to me. I value respect so much. Everybody has their own definition of true character but I have my own. My definition of true character is an honest and respectful individual who takes responsibility of their own actions. Also, a true character is an individual who risks their own life for another. The task doesn't have to be big, it can be a simple conversation with somebody who's having a bad

We all have high's and low's in life, we have bills and so many other issues. We must not give up hope or feel so many  pressures of this world. There are also great things about life. For example, falling in love, starting a family, waking up each and everyday and accomplishing goals that you didn't think you were going to accomplish. The bottom line is that life is beautiful and we should start living life to the fullest. Love like you haven't loved before, pour your heart out to people who you love and be happy everyday because life is literally too short but not too short to start living life to the fullest.

I have a good conscious and I'm grateful that God gave one to me. I make mistakes and  I admit that. For example, I made a mistake toward this girl last week and being the young man, I took responsibility for that. I'm not tooting my own horn, either. The young lady actually took it very well. She accepted my apology. Everybody makes mistakes, it happens but the mature thing to do is to take responsibility for your actions and apologize regardless if she/he responds negatively. The only thing that matters is that you apologize. Free your conscious and release those burdens.

I don't like negativity at all but you have to find some positivity in your situation. Whatever or whoever brought that negativity in your life, you have to block that negativity in your life. At the same time I guess you have to find out why that person or thing is so negative or why that negativity was brought into your life. There is positivity in a lot of things and situations. People just need to find it. For example, if a person acts mean or cruel towards you, find out why they have a grudge against you. If you do anything in your power to change  a negative situation into a positive situation and that person or thing doesn't even try to be positive, just let that person or thing go from your mind and heart. You might still care deeply for that person or thing but you just have to let them go because whatever the situation is, it's unhealthy to keep negative people or things around in your life. If you want negative things or people around in your life, you are living

A lot of people say that they don't care what other people say about them but is that really true? I don't really know but I say this a lot but sometimes I do care what other people think of me but I'm really trying to stop that habit because truthfully I just want to know what God thinks of me. The ultimate person that really can  judge us is God himself.  People might think a lot of things  that you do is unorthodox but what truly matters is that you know is pure and from the bottom of your heart. I'm in these situation all of the time but everything that I do is pure and honest. My actions and what I do for people is from an innocent place. This is me and whoever doesn't like it can just deal with it because I'm going to be me until I'm dead and gone. Don't let anybody make you feel insecure or ashamed because of what you do or who you are because those naysayers don't matter at all.  My dad told me this phrase, when God gives you lemons, you make

This past summer, I went to my first ever Joubert Syndrome conference in Chicago. I was so excited to be invited and more importantly I spoke at the conference. My friend and I spoke about growing up with Joubert Syndrome, the high's and low's that can be associated with the genetic disorder. After we each spoke, we joined our parents for a Q&A session from the audience. That segment was so good. A lot of people said they were truly inspired  from our presentations and we empowered them. That meant a lot to me, I can't say that for my friend though . After the Q&A session, more people came to me to tell me that they were inspired from my presentation, alone. Overall, the night was a humungous success. The conference was a big eye opener for me, what I mean by this is I always have read articles about people who got diagnosed with Joubert Syndrome who have severe complications but to see them in person with those severe complications is bittersweet. It's bittersw

Today I went to the movies with my friend and we saw Paper Towns starring Nat Wolff and Cara Delevinge. One of the many messages I got from this movie was to go outside of your comfort zone and face your fears. One of the messages in my film is don't let your insecurities hinder your happiness and the main character (Nat Wolff) was portraying that. I'm not going to spoil the movie for you guys but the main character  is a introvert individual and Cara Delevinge's character brought that shyness out of the main character. I want to do that with people, I just want to inspire and encourage people to embrace themselves in a positive way. We as people often feel insecure or ashamed of being ourselves but we shouldn't feel that way. I was uncomfortable in my own skin for a long time but I found positive outlets that I could go to so I can establish my positivity identity. I also surrounded myself with positive people, this is so essential. Another message I got from this movi

Be the most authentic and genuine person you can be because nobody can take that individuality from you. Don't just hang out with the popular kids because you want that exposure. You should make your own popularity from what you do positive in the world. I used to want to hang out with everybody ( not so much popular kids) but I found out that everybody wasn't my friend, they were just people that I used to say hi occasionally. When you get older, you think about your life, putting things in perspective and I stopped doing things that I used to do and stopped hanging out with people that weren't going to achieve what I wanted to achieve. I read an article in Jet and they were featuring Tyrese Gibson and he was talking about what I'm saying now. This article spoke to me because it was very inspirational to me. This article was also very true and people can relate it to their  lives as well. I just want to say just Be You and don't change yourself for anybody.

I recently watched a movie entitled Mooz-Lum starring Evan Ross and Nia Long. The synopsis is an Islamic child/young adult that is conflicted with his faith and identity and gets tested when September 11 happens . This movie is so great but it outraged me. People discriminated against people of Islamic faith, not on purpose but to make a point. One scene that made me very livid was when the sister and friend of Evan Ross got terrorize on a college campus because the people that were terrorizing them thought they were part of the extremist attacks. What made me more mad was that the fact was this is our society. We need to stop blaming a whole religious organization/ group for only a few people's actions. We need to do more than this, we need to have peace among the nations. If we can't get along with people who have different religions, how can we establish peace? We need to be peaceful and kind to ourselves before we can spread peace and kindness to others. For example, the 

Love everybody, each and everyday. Love is associated with forgiveness. People say forgive others because it will give you peace and it will release many burdens off your shoulders. This is so true but I forgive and love because it is what God wants me to do. This is God's will. I love hard and I will continue to love hard until I'm dead and gone.  My friends say that "good guys finish last" but that's not true. Gentlemen always will be first, it might not seem likely now because a lot of girls want bad boys. Those bad boys treat girls bad though so I don't understand their logic at all. Girls in general need loving in their life, no matter what they did in the past to you or whoever they pretend to be because of their insecurities. Not all girls though . I think the only true way to Love is through God. He can teach you to Love yourself and Love others. He taught me and still is teaching me how to Love. Love doesn't happen overnight but it will tak

Be open minded. Don't be close minded. Having an open will let you experience change that you haven't felt or been exposed to you yet. I always felt like I had an open mind but when I started traveling I had a better open mind.  I traveled to England, Israel and India and when I traveled to those destinations I got enlightened in many ways. In England, I repelled down a castle and when I was doing it, everybody was cheering me on and all of the bad thoughts about me having Joubert Syndrome got extracted away from my mind. When I was in Israel, I went to the Wailing Wall. The concept of the wall is to put notes in the stones of the wall so God can read them. I put a note in there and I wrote "heal the world." After that, I prayed to God about me having Joubert Syndrome and how it was the best thing that happened to me because a lot of people have worse disabilities. When I was in India, I saw all of this poverty. We went through the countryside and I saw all of these p

Be honest with yourself. I wasn't honest with myself when I was growing up. What I'm about to say is hard for me but I have to get this off my chest. I was contemplating suicide when I was growing up. The dark place that I was talking about in my film was the suicide thoughts. I decided to not commit suicide because I was thinking of how many people love me and if I do it, they would be terribly sadden. I told my mom and my doctor when I was younger. I actually told my dad today and it was a great conservation. I didn't tell my dad when I was younger because I didn't know how he would've reacted. I'm really good now because I have loving family and friends that want me to succeed. In this present moment I'm glad that I'm alive because I found God in the midst everything that happened to me. I was watching an interview and this rapper named Alex Riley was talking about his rap career. He said "even though I rap playfully, my fans come up to me after

Every time I see a beautiful girl, I always fall in love instantly. This is tricky because some girls have a beautiful face but has an ugly soul or an ugly personality. On the other hand, there is some beautiful girls who have beautiful souls or have beautiful personalities. I learned this the hard way in the past but whether they have ugly or beautiful personalities, we have to love each other. We have to love each other because loving will open your eyes to many other positive things but most importantly, Love is what God wants us to do. I always rush girls when I want them be my girlfriend. For example, I always tell a girl that I like them within a few days and I didn't get to know them that well and obviously it doesn't work out. I always did and I always do this but since I know this, I will get better at this. I won't let this be my weakness anymore, I'm going to make this my strength.  A lot of times I ask myself, "when will I ever learn" but everythin

Open up your heart everyday regardless of what other people think of you. The only person that can judge you is God. You should be concerned with that but you also should be concerned with the action and words that you are speaking to that individual. You should want to benefit that other individual regardless if she or he gets mad. The willingness to open up your heart means that you are acceptable to love others, to forgive others and to help others in need. Opening up your heart can be risky because that individual that you are speaking to might not accept what you have to say even though it might be genuine and sincere. That individual might not embrace the words that you said to her or him at that given time, but he or she will embrace those words eventually wholeheartedly. The great thing is that you opened up your heart and that's what most people don't do. Don't be afraid to open your heart because after you do it, it will release great feelings. When I was growing

I always thank God for allowing me to wake up everyday. I thank him for the beautiful sky, the beautiful sun shining, the beautiful people walking around, and for the animals that he created. I know a lot of people believe in someone else and that is their preference but I'm telling you guys that I believe in God and nobody else. I know what he can do. I'm a witness to his doings and he's excellent to me and I try to be excellent to him as well. I don't only thank him for waking me up each and every morning but I also thank him for my five senses, my loving family, blood flowing through my veins and arteries and the many blessings he bestowed and will bestow in my life. Some people don't have these blessings in their life so that's why I'm so grateful everyday. I don't take these blessings for granted, well at least I don't try to.  I'm not here to force my religion on you guys but I am telling you guys to thank whoever you believe in or if you d

One of my biggest pet peeves is disrespectfulness. I get so furious when people treat others like garbage, saying mean things to each other. Cyberbullying and bullying should not be tolerated at all. I had to do a class presentation about cyberbullying. I found this app called Yik Yak which  is an anonymous twitter and can be directly associated with cyberbullying and bullying. Yik Yak was invented by Tyler Droll and Buffs Buffington. According to USA today, colleges in Vermont, Chicago and New Mexico banned Yik Yak due to the increased bullying around those campuses. Recently, I watched a  clip from The Steve Harvey Show and these parents were on the show. They have a daughter with a disorder that affects her chromosomes. Her mother posted a picture of her child on social media because it was her birthday; but the comments that people posted were disrespectful. Cyberbullying and bullying have the same negative effects on people so please refrain from bullying and anything associated

I think one of the many reasons why God put me on this earth is to comfort individuals in their time of need as God does for us. I can be there for you when you don't have anybody to turn to. Of course, many people can and should turn to God with their problems but on this earth I truly believe I'm supposed to help others. Whether you are going through obstacles or having insecurities, I can help you R ise like an Eagle . God made us with uniqueness, creativity and individuality and he wants us to use these qualities the best of our abilities. If you want a shoulder to cry on, I'm here. If you want to talk, I'm here. If you want to lay around and hang around, that's ok too. I'm not talking about having sex because sex is really delaying the process of getting true help. Be there for others who really need your help. Spread Positivity and Love everyday.

Express yourself as freely as you want to. People will judge you but who cares about their opinions of you. For example, when I wrote that message to the girl that I was telling you guys earlier in the older post, I'm glad that I did this action because I expressed my emotions freely as I knew how to. People talk and they will be talking until they are dead and gone but no matter what they say, Be You. God has made us unique and he placed a gift inside of each and everyone of us so it's no reason for us to shy away from being ourselves. God is the only one who can judge us based on our actions. In other words Do You.

The keyword is Love.  This relates to my other post associated with agape love. I would rather have love in my heart and my mind than hate because when you hate; that is associated with negativity and eventually you will spread that negativity and hate among others. We all should love regardless if you have bitterness with other individual(s) or the world. The Bible says "Love Thy Neighbor" and I try to live that message everyday by spreading genuine love and kindness to everybody that I encounter. Take baby steps during this process because I know it's very hard to Love Thy Neighbor but we all need to apply this to our daily lives.

We all should practice the method of unconditional love. Unconditional love can be referred to as agape love. Agape love is a kind of love that you love individual(s) that you will do anything for them without expecting anything in return. I think when everybody in the entire world embrace this concept, there would be world peace and no violence. When somebody wants our help we should help them, not only in the instance of helping the homeless but in many other ways too. If somebody is feeling insecure or down on their luck, we should pick them up from their depression. Hold, lay, talk or cuddle with that individual to make them feel better. I don't mean have physical relationships because that doesn't help the case unless it's passionate. They might take weeks, months or even years to get over their insecurities or downfalls. Regardless if they want your help or not, help them anyway. They might not appreciate your help now but they will appreciate it in the long run. I th

We have to become positive individuals. We have to breed positivity in our veins. If we don't have positivity in our lives, negativity will consume our lives. I don't know about you guys but I like to be a positive individual everyday. I pray to God everyday that he instills inner peace within myself and through him each day. Having positivity and peace in your heart and mind  will make your life easier no matter what is going on in your life. When I was in high school, I remembered saying to my friend, " Why would any want want to be negative. How can you live your life mad at the world?" No matter what's going on in your life, there is always a solution to all of the madness. Also, you shouldn't be so angry that you take it out on other people. If people are angry, they should take proper steps to remove that anger from their hearts and minds. Spread love and peace everywhere you go. Spread love and peace to everybody that you encounter because we all should

I'm currently involved in a situation and the situation is I messaged a girl on Facebook and the message was very personal and I told her to not share it with anybody except me and her. She shared it with people on campus. I should've known this but I'll know next time. I'm not mad at all, I've made peace with myself with the whole situation. Now people are talking around campus but the main lesson I got out of this situation is to no let my insecurities hinder my happiness. Even though people talk about me on a negative aspect but I know God is greater than any hate that you face. I also know that He will never will leave me or forsake me. I can't let things or people upset me to the point that I lose my own set of morals, values and most importantly, Sanity .

I want to inspire the younger generations that come after me to find that purpose or gift that they have. I know that they have that gift in their life but they just don't it yet. They really need to find it themselves. It might take them a while to find their purpose or gift but when they find it, it is going to be so exciting. When they have that purpose or gift in their life, it's so important to not let that gift be wasted. The Bible says " You are something to God if you have a purpose in this lifetime but if not, God doesn't want anything to do with you". Helping others is associated with this also. This is why I wanted to produce this film, I wanted to have a relationship with God. I just want my film to change the mindsets of people, I just want people to treat other people the way that they want to be treated. I want You to have a purpose in your life.

Before I was involved in Young Audiences, currently called Center for Arts-Inspired Learning I wasn't really interested in the arts. After I became involved in this arts program, I became really appreciative what the arts does for people. Everybody has their own individual art form, they may be painters, rappers, anybody who is in the film industry or anybody who is pursuing their dreams in the way that benefits themselves or/and others. Rappers rap what they want to rap about and there is no problem with that. People might not like some rappers because they use explicit language and refer to women as inappropriate persons. But what people need to understand is that at the end of the day, that is an art form and those rappers can express themselves as freely as they want to. You know how the old saying goes: You might not like them but you have to respect them. Same goes for rappers or for anybody who's pursuing their own individual art form, you might like that art form but yo

When I was a kid, I took a lot of things for granted and I still do sometimes but I try not to. I used to take advantage of water, food, shelter and having loving and compassionate parents who want to see me succeed in life. I take long showers and drink water without any thought. I think about people around the world, especially the undeveloped countries that don't have sufficient drinking water or any clean water to clean themselves. I also waste food a lot and after the fact I always think about people within the United States and outside who go hungry everyday because they don't have enough money to buy food. There is a rapper that I listen to and his name is Mark Battles. He recently released a mixtape entitled Shelter Food. This mixtape is about how he and his family were in shelters throughout his childhood and how we take little things in life for granted. For example, wasting food. I always take my parents for granted. A lot of parents abuse their children verbally an

Over spring break, I went to see the new movie, Chappie starring Hugh Jackman and Dev Petal. The message I got out of this film is to be different from people, in this case be different than any other robot. Even though the storyline was centered around a robot, I could still feel the emotions that the robot was feeling. Regardless of its robots or people, we should treat everybody with respect and compassion. Most importantly, we should embrace uniqueness. Nobody should want to be like their counterparts because everybody has their own interests and individual gifts they specialize in. One of the many messages in my film is to be different. We should embrace our own creativity and our individual habits. Be different at every chance you get.

Be an advocator for change!! We desperately need leaders today to change our world dynamic today. In 2014, I traveled to India with my cousin. It was an exciting trip but one day made me think critically to myself. My cousin and I were going to see the TaJ Mahal but my cousin told the driver to drive us through the villages. I'm glad he told the driver to do that because I could see everything. I was so shocked of what I saw!! I saw so much poverty. I wanted to cry in the van. I saw adults, mostly children selling dolls, vegetables and anything that they could sell. . I saw many families living out of cardboard boxes. I was thinking to myself how can this be? There is a wealth divide among individuals and that isn't right. Maybe this is associated with the caste system even though it's illegal today, it still happens. The money in India is distributed unequally. You can say that about the United States too. But we don't have to sit around and let this happen. We can

One day I started to stop feeling bad for myself. I went with my mom to her co worker's house for a fundraiser for her daughter. The daughter has cerebral palsy. She was talking and she was enjoying life. I was thinking to myself if she can enjoy life, I can too. She also is in a worse condition than me so how can I complain? From that moment on, I started looking at my life in a positive way rather than a negative way. I wrote two publications, one in my high school newspaper called the Shakerite and a local Cleveland magazine called Your Teen . I wrote them because I wanted people to understand a little bit more about me and how I'm living with Joubert Syndrome on a daily basis. The most important thing I want people to understand is that they shouldn't feel bad for me because I was in a good place when I wrote those publications back then. In the summer of 2012, I was in Young Audiences which is a  program that caters to high school students that want to pursue differ

Hey guys, My name is Noldon Starks. I was born with Ocular Motor Apraxia which deals with my fine motor skills. For example, I couldn't pick up individual coins from a table. Another example is that I couldn't tie my shoes until I was three years old. When I was a pre teen, I was diagnosed with Joubert Syndrome. I still have Ocular Motor Apraxia but the symptoms of Joubert Syndrome is more common in me. Joubert Syndrome is a genetic disorder that affects my coordination, balance and speech. Joubert Syndrome is very similar to Ocular Motor Apraxia. There are a lot of different forms of Joubert Syndrome and I shake my head involuntarily. A lot of people in elementary school didn't really understand why I shook my head so they teased and bullied me. People would ask me why I shake my head but I was too embarrassed to tell them due to the insecurities that I had about myself. My goal of this blog is to empower and inspire individuals. The experiences that I went through and th