Most people scroll through looking at pictures. Some even “like” a post which is most appreciated. Few actually stop to read the captions. This is not a post of despair but of hope. I'm sure my journey the last 18 months was not unique. It was at times depressing, introspective, enlightening and celebratory but it was most definitely personal and I finally had to own it. Writing about it is so much easier for me than talking about it.

It was a time of sickness, tragedy, death, isolation and, event after event, a sledgehammer to the head wake-up call to what it is like to be Black in America. I so desperately want to talk about what ultimately broke me but I cannot. I will, however, say that good people will always find a way to be good people and for that I am grateful.

It’s frustrating that those who don't know me see the color of my skin or use my age to make their own assumptions or stereotyped conclusions. They know nothing of my beliefs, my background, my story, where I come from, how I got where I am or what I am capable of. It’s frustrating as a control freak to admit that there are things outside my control. People will say or think what they will about you. Perception is reality. How you are perceived becomes someone else’s reality. Everything you’ve spent a lifetime building can be taken away in an instant.

Although the journey has been difficult, I am thankful for it. I am thankful for the time to reflect. I am thankful for the new people I have met. Sometimes people see an opportunity to help someone and they take it. I am thankful for those that follow me and especially those that have supported me through a purchase which allows me to help others.

Most importantly I am thankful for friends and family who know me, support me, love me and give me hope. Enjoy what you have around you here and now. Don’t live for tomorrow at the expense of taking today for granted. Tomorrow is never promised.

Stay tuned. There is work to be done. Peace and love. -David