17 Jan በየቀኑ በጫት፣በስካር፣በፓርቲ ከመነቃቃት ወደ ሌሎችን ማነቃቃት እንዴት ተለወጥኩ?

Whether you believe it or not, I shouldn’t be alive. Where I’m today, even if my current status in life may not impress many people who hadn’t begun life where I did, it is short of a miracle. I survived my youth, and luckily, I’m still here and breathing. Many of my peers couldn’t!

The DAILY motivation my peers and I had was getting some changes to buy Khat, a green leaf considered in the US ILLEGAL. Once we secured the Khat, the next DAILY motivation we had was, again, to find some changes to break the euphoria we would be experiencing at the end of chewing the Khat. We call it ‘Cheepsi’. It is an Oromigna word. We must break the euphoria; otherwise, we won’t sleep.

The DAILY journey doesn’t end there. We desperately search for parties to dance the entire night. You got the picture…

People misjudge and find me egotistical and even naive; worst, crazy because of my over-enthusiasm and bold claims. I don’t blame them. Why?

Because they had never been where I started life, life didn’t treat them harshly the way it dealt with me.
I. They didn’t arise from DEAD, metaphorically speaking!
II. They might have been fed with a silver spoon never experiencing any survival threats.

If so, how can you expect them to get me? Show empathy…

It isn’t ego or arrogance that drives me. Knucklehead, it is GRATEFULNESS!

It is the fact that a guy whose life was written off so early survived; it’s short of a miracle. Though I shouldn’t be here, I’m alive.

If you were me, to demonstrate gratitude is to stand up for other underdogs who gave up on themselves or those who are written off by others. I can’t be silent…

I honor the second chance life gave me by standing up for UNDERDOGs worldwide. As far as I live, I proclaim the greatness of humanity, including those:
1. Who are where I was,
2. Considered irrelevant,
3. Poor, and
4. At the bottom of the human hierarchy…

If you understand Amharic, this is a short clip you should watch to understand my context. You’ll learn my roots and how it all began.
If you’re an underdog, especially an immigrant, you better watch this. It:
1. Inspires YOU,
2. Raises your bar,
3. Reignites your motivation, and
4. Propels you to begin life afresh. You matter! If I’ve come this far, you, too, can do the same, even better.

Watch it and give me your feedback.
1. What is your story?
2. What have you overcome?
3. What helped you to make a shift in life?
4. Who is your hero or heroine WHO RAISED YOUR BAR?